week

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.

Today we discuss presidential politics, window treatments and disasters of the natural and man-made variety.

Time for Gavin Newsom to start measuring those White House drapes.

Huh?

You know, president of the United States. I’m thinking something Earth-friendly, like recycled hemp.

Wait, what?

Did you catch the nationally televised speech the governor recently gave? The one about “democracy at a crossroads.”

I did.

It was a fine speech and the governor made some important points about President Trump’s reckless commandeering of California’s National Guard, his administration’s indiscriminate immigration raids and the wholly unnecessary dispatch of Marines to Los Angeles. (From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Venice Beach.)

Newsom was plenty justified in his anger and contempt. Trump, acting true to his flame-fanning fashion, turned what was a middling set of protests — nothing local law enforcement couldn’t handle — into yet another assault on our sorely tested Constitution.

Newsom’s speech certainly “met the moment,” to use one of his favorite phrases.

I’ll grant you that. Unlike a lot of extracurricular activities aimed at boosting his presidential prospects, Newsom was addressing a Trump-manufactured crisis unfolding right here at home. It was a moment that called for gubernatorial leadership.

Just the kind of leadership despondent Democrats need.

So it’s been said.

It’s not much of a leap to see Newsom leading the anti-Trump opposition clear to the White House!

Actually, that’s a bigger leap than it takes to clear the Grand Canyon.

Granted, Newsom’s speech received a lot of raves from Democrats across the country. Many are desperate for someone in a position of power to give voice to their blood-boiling, cranium-exploding rage against Trump and his many excesses. Newsom did a good job channeling those emotions and articulating the dangers of an imprudent president run amok.

But let’s not go overboard.

There is no lack of Democrats eager to take on Trump and become the face of the so-called resistance. There is no shortage of Democrats eyeing a 2028 bid for the White House. Those who run won’t be schlepping all the political baggage that Newsom has to tote.

Such as?

Rampant homelessness. An exploding budget deficit. Vast income inequality.

Plus, a lot of social policies that many Californians consider beneficent and broad-minded that, to put it mildly, others around the country consider much less so. Don’t get me wrong. I love California with all my heart and soul. But we have a lot of deep-seated problems and cultural idiosyncrasies that Newsom’s rivals — Democrat and Republican — would be only too happy to hang around his neck.

So let’s not get too caught up in the moment. The fundamentals of the 2028 presidential race haven’t changed based on a single — albeit well-received — speech. It’s still hard to see Democrats turning the party’s fate over to yet another nominee spawned in the liberal stew of San Francisco politics and campaigning with kooky California as a home address.

Stranger things have happened.

True.

That said, 2028 is a zillion political light years and countless news cycles away. First come the midterm elections in November 2026, giving voters their chance to weigh in on Trump and his actions. The verdict will go a long way toward shaping the dynamic in 2028.

Well at least Newsom has brought his A-game to social media. His trolling of Trump is something to behold!

Whatever.

You’re not impressed?

I think it’s best to leave the snark to professionals.

I do, however, have some sympathy for the governor. It’s not easy dealing with someone as spiteful and amoral as the nation’s ax-grinder-in-chief.

Consider, for instance, the disaster relief money that fire-devastated Southern California is counting on. Helping the region in its time of desperate need shouldn’t be remotely political, or part of some red-vs.-blue-state feud. Historically, that sort of federal aid has never been.

But this is Trump we’re dealing with.

To his credit, Newsom tried making nice in the days and weeks following the January firestorm. He ignored the president’s provocations and held what was later described an an amicable session with Trump in the Oval Office. Their working relationship seemed to be a good one.

But few things last with the transactional Trump, save for his pettiness and self-absorption. Asked last week if his “recent dust-ups” with Newsom would impact the granting of wildfire relief, Trump said, “Yeah, maybe.”

He called Newsom incompetent, trotted out more gobbledygook about raking forests and then soliloquized on the nature of personal relationships. “When you don’t like somebody, don’t respect somebody, it’s harder for that person to get money if you’re on top,” Trump said.

Yeesh.

Responding in a posting on X, Newsom correctly noted, “Sucking up to the President should not be a requirement for him to do the right thing for the American people.”

Hard to argue with that.

Yet here we are.

The nation’s second-most populous city is occupied by National Guard and Marine troops. Thousands of people — displaced by disaster, their past lives gone up in smoke — are hostage to the whims of a peevish president who always puts his feelings first and cares nothing for the greater good.

The midterm election can’t come soon enough.

The soaps are lining up big scenes this coming week, with Emmerdale danger for Robert Sugden, a devastating Coronation Street drug plot and an EastEnders exit teased

There’s some really big moments coming up this week ahead on Emmerdale, EastEnders and Coronation Street.

One soap is about to air a massive week of episodes as they tackle an LSD storyline, and the serious consequences of drug use. We’ll see characters in danger, mystery scenes yet to be revealed and trouble for one character.

Over on Emmerdale, we might see someone become killer John Sugden’s next victim. Robert Sugden is left facing danger at the hands of his brother according to the soap, who has released cryptic spoilers that hint at deadly scenes.

EastEnders could be hinting at an exit too following the news Bernadette Taylor would be leaving the BBC soap. New spoilers hint at trouble involving the character, so it’s perhaps a hint of how she will exit the show.

READ MORE: EastEnders Shane Richie addresses Alfie ‘exit’ and teases huge Zoe Slater twist

Emmerdale’s Robert Sugden in danger

Robert Sugden seemingly facing a life-or-death situation next week., the soap has hinted to viewers. Ryan Hawley’s character faces danger as teased in images and spoiler lines.

While it’s being kept a mystery on what actually happens, what we do know is that John wants to get rid of his brother after seeing him as a threat. Spoilers revealed that after Robert is drugged by his date, John drives off with Robert in the back of his van.

It’s not been made clear if John has orchestrated the drugging or not, but he’s soon very much involved. Robert soon finds himself at the mercy of killer John it would seem, or at least that’s what the soap has teased, as he’s left “lifeless”.

Images see John looming with a syringe in his hand with Robert laying down in the van. But will John really go as far as to kill his own sibling? While spoilers have hinted Robert wakes up, it’s yet to be revealed if there’s more scenes with John or if he remains in danger.

EastEnders exit ‘sealed’

Bernadette Taylor’s exit storyline may have been teased, as she’s asked by cousin Felix Baker for her seal of approval over his new romance with Johnny Carter. But with her reluctant to after him covering up the murder of her brother Keanu, something Felix knows nothing about, will it come back to haunt all those involved?

Theres a strange discovery though when some weird invoices are spotted linked to the Panesar account, which Bernie has access to. She dismissed the concerns, but soon she’s questioned once more. As Ravi and Suki go to confront Bernie about the irregularities, will they make a discovery and is this linked to Bernie’s looming exit?

Coronation Street LSD horror

There’s dramatic scenes starting next week with the soap set to tackle an LSD storyline. The repercussions could be massive as multiple characters are caught up in the drama.

There’s potentially devastating scenes ahead as disaster hits the street after a house party. Aadi Alahan decides to throw a gathering, only for troublemaker Brody Michaelis to bring a bottle of LSD.

Aadi spots the drugs and kicks Brody out of the party, leading to chaos as he refuses to go before finally fleeing. But Aadi makes a decision he could live to regret when he, Nina and Summer decide to drink the LSD.

Aadi leaves his unattended only for someone else to accidentally drink it. What follows is a dramatic turn of events with Nina and Summer high only to be left terrified when they hear sirens, with it hinted something bad has happened.

As for another resident, the person who took the third cup of LSD is left in a bad way and their condition deteriorates.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

On Friday morning, more than 50 community and religious leaders from around Los Angeles signed a petition that called on the Dodgers “to take a public stand against the indiscriminate ICE raids which are causing immense terror in our communities, hurting businesses, and separating families.”

By Friday afternoon, the team finally started to put some public plans into action.

In their first public response to the immigration raids that have swept through Los Angeles over the last two weeks, the Dodgers announced they have committed $1 million toward assistance for families of immigrants affected by the recent events in the city, as well as plans for further initiatives that are to be unveiled in the coming days.

“What’s happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected,” team president Stan Kasten said in a statement. “We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles.”

After days of increasing calls for the team to address the unrest that has swept through the city over the last two weeks, the pressure on the Dodgers had been ratcheted up again with Friday’s petition.

“This is the moment for the Dodgers to stand with the families whom masked agents are tearing apart,” read the letter, which was signed by religious officials, labor leaders and immigrant-rights activists, and addressed to Dodgers owner Mark Walter.

“If these truly are OUR beloved Los Angeles Dodgers, we need you, more than ever, to stand with us, immigrants and non-immigrants alike. Stand with all of us.”

The petition, which was organized by faith-based community organizing network PICO California, came a day after the Dodgers initially postponed their planned financial assistance announcement.

The club decided to delay its announcement after immigration agents showed up at Dodger Stadium on Thursday morning, attempting to access the ballpark’s parking lots in an apparent effort to use them as a processing site for people who had been arrested in a nearby immigration raid.

The Dodgers denied the agents entry to the grounds, according to the team, but pushed their announcement to Friday afternoon — when they detailed that their $1 million in financial resources will be made in partnership with the City of Los Angeles.

“The Dodgers and the City of Los Angeles have a proven ability to get financial resources to those in critical need, most recently seen in their efforts to aid victims of the January wildfires,” the Dodgers said. “Through our support of the city’s efforts, the Dodgers will encourage those organizations in a similar position to use their resources to directly support the families and workers who have suffered economic hardship.”

The team said more initiatives with local community and labor organizations will be announced in the coming days.

“I want to thank the Dodgers for leading with this action to support the immigrant community of Los Angeles,” Mayor Karen Bass said in a team statement.

That news checked off one of the requests laid out in Friday’s earlier petition, which implored the club to:

• Issue a public statement affirming that families are sacred, and that the ICE raids must stop
• Stand with and support community organizations that are welcoming, protecting, and integrating immigrants into the fabric of our great region
• As when you asked ICE to leave the property yesterday, continue to ensure that no Dodgers’ property or assets will be used to aid or abet immigration enforcement operations

A news release announcing the letter also promoted a public petition campaign for fans to sign.

Many of the signatories of Friday’s petition were local church leaders, including the bishops of the Methodist California-Pacific Conference and Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles.

The petition was also signed by representatives from more than 20 community advocacy groups, including the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and National Day Laborer Organizing Network; as well as labor leaders from local teacher unions and the Service Employees International Union, among others.

“We love the Dodgers not only because they are champions, but even more because they are the team of Jackie Robinson, of Fernando Valenzuela, of Kiké Hernandez — baseball players who have helped bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice,” Joseph Tomás McKellar, executive director of the PICO California organization that organized the petition, said in a statement Friday morning. “This is a moment when the Dodgers, a beloved family and cultural institution for 67 years, can take a moral stand and make an impact on the lives of vulnerable families in our region. Families are sacred.”

After the Dodgers’ announcement, Reverend Zach Hoover from LA Voice, a member federation of PICO California, released another statement.

“The Dodgers have taken a meaningful step toward addressing the fear in our communities. By committing real resources to immigrant families, they’re showing that moral courage and civic leadership still matter in Los Angeles, and that we can heal the wounds of hate with the power of love. We pray this is just the beginning — because dignity demands more than silence, and faith calls us to act.”

Claudia Aragon was headed home after dropping her puppy off at obedience school when the first text came in early on Friday, June 6.

“Ice showed up at the Home Depot in cypress park. Want to make sure we can help people,” an immigrant service provider texted her. “this is awful claudia.”

Aragon, who has directed Mayor Karen Bass’ Office of Immigrant Affairs since March 2023, had been sick and was planning to stay home that day.

But she lives only a few miles from the Cypress Park site and decided to drive over.

She arrived outside the Home Depot in the aftermath of the raid — an environment she described as akin to “calm after the storm” in the wake of a natural disaster.

“Everyone’s kind of trying to find their bearings and looking around like, ‘What happened?’ Some of the food vendors that were there were sort of putting things back,” Aragon said.

There would be little calm for Aragon over the next days and weeks.

Within an hour or so of getting home that Friday morning, Aragon’s phone rang again, with someone telling her that federal authorities were at a sprawling fast-fashion warehouse in the Garment District.

Far from being isolated incidents, the Cypress Park Home Depot raid and the arrests at Ambiance Apparel were initial blasts in what would be much broader upheaval, as the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement teams descended on Los Angeles and a military deployment soon followed.

Through it all, Aragon’s phone kept buzzing, as she connected with activists and a host of immigrant service providers.

The next few hours were a surreal and overwhelming frenzy, as Aragon, immigrant advocacy groups and the city all tried to piece together what was happening with little communication from the federal government.

Aragon, who worked in Bass’ congressional office before joining the mayor’s office, has known and collaborated with many of her community counterparts for years.

Those relationships were battle-tested early in Aragon’s city tenure, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending buses of migrants to Los Angeles in 2023. Aragon was responsible for coordinating the response, as the city, faith and nonprofit partners helped situate the new arrivals.

A day or two after Donald Trump was elected to a second term in the White House, Aragon also sat down with the mayor’s senior staff to strategize on how the city could prepare for potential immigrant raids, since Trump had made no secret of his intentions during the campaign.

The city’s immigrant affairs office is currently a lean two-person team, with Aragon and a language access coordinator. The department was first created under Mayor James Hahn and then resurrected by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Aragon herself is “a very proud immigrant,” having come to the United States from El Salvador when she was 7.

“To be here with Mayor Bass, having the opportunity to elevate the immigrant community through policy, through funding to provide support for providers who champion the community — my community, for families that are like mine — is amazing and an honor,” Aragon said.

It can also be painful at this particular moment in history, when the promise of the immigrant American dream that made her life possible now seems in existential jeopardy and so many are living in fear.

“People can’t even go down the street without being detained … I can’t even look at them and tell them they’ll be okay,” Aragon said.

State of play

— THE CHAOS CONTINUES: Federal immigration raids continued across L.A. County this week, reaching into Hollywood, Pico Rivera and other locations. In San Fernando, L.A. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and San Fernando Vice Mayor Mary Solorio went on Instagram Thursday to spread the word about residents being swept up from the areas around a Home Depot in San Fernando and a Costco in Pacoima, in hopes of alerting their families.

“We only have first names of some of the individuals,” Solorio said. “Those individuals are Omar, Elmer, Antonio, Saul and Ramiro.” Rodriguez read out contact information for immigrant defense groups, saying: “We need to protect one another in these very scary times.”

In Hollywood, L.A. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez voiced his fury over a raid in his district at the Home Depot on Sunset Boulevard.

“Despicable doesn’t even begin to describe what this is,” he told The Times. “You hear about this happening in military dictatorships and totalitarian governments. To happen here in the second-largest city in America is — I don’t have words, just outrage.”

— ‘PROFOUND HARM’: Several people were also detained at a bus stop near a Winchell’s Donut House in Pasadena, evoking angry responses from County Supervisor Janice Hahn and U.S. Rep. Judy Chu. Hahn, who chairs Metro’s transit board, worried that residents will be too afraid to go to work, attend church and, now, hop on public transit. “The fear they are spreading is doing profound harm in our communities,” she said. Metro officials underscored those concerns, saying the transit system has seen a 10% to 15% drop in bus and rail ridership since immigration enforcement activities began.

— BEHIND THE MASK: County Supervisor Kathryn Barger voiced fears this week that some of the masked men pulling over Angelenos may not be immigration agents but rather “bad players” impersonating federal law enforcement. “I tell you this story because we don’t know if they were ICE agents or not,” she said at Tuesday’s board meeting. Hahn wasn’t convinced, replying: “Make no mistake about it: It isn’t people impersonating ICE. It is ICE.”

— DODGER MANIA: Yet another part of the city caught in the uproar was Dodger Stadium. Raul Claros, a community organizer now running for an Eastside seat on the City Council, held a press conference Wednesday to demand that the team do more to help families devastated by the raids. “The largest economic engine in this area is silent!” he told ABC7 and other news outlets. “Wake up! Do better!”

The Dodgers later signaled the organization was willing to help. Before the team made its announcement, federal law enforcement agents were spotted outside the stadium, generating new protests. “People are out here because they don’t want to see their families torn apart,” Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said in an interview with NBC. The team, in a statement on X, said it had denied entry to those agents. (Dodgers referred to them as ICE, federal officials said they were from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.)

— DOWNTOWN SETTLES DOWN: Confrontations between law enforcement agencies and anti-ICE protesters tapered off this week, prompting Mayor Karen Bass to scale back, and then repeal, her curfew order for downtown, Chinatown and the Arts District. But those showdowns have caused legal and financial shock wages.

— RISING PRICE TAG: For example: City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo reported Friday that the costs of the protests to the city had jumped to more than $32 million, including $29.5 million in costs to the LAPD. The City Council voted 12-3 on Wednesday to loan the LAPD $5 million from the city’s reserve fund to cover the associated police overtime. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents downtown, voted no, as did two of her colleagues: Hernandez and Soto-Martínez.

— A NEW GIG: Former Mayor Eric Garcetti (who, until recently, was serving as U.S. ambassador to India) has been named Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy on behalf of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.

— HEADING TO COURT: Free speech advocates have begun filing lawsuits to stop what they call the “continuing abuse” of journalists covering protests in L.A. One federal lawsuit, which targets the city, described instances where journalists have been tear-gassed, detained without cause and shot with less-lethal police rounds.

— THROUGH THE ROOF: The overall cost of legal payouts reached a new peak for City Hall this year, driven in large part by lawsuits over policing and “dangerous conditions,” such as cracked or damaged streets and sidewalks.

— TOURISM TURMOIL: The battle between tourism workers and a coalition of airline and hotel groups intensified this week, with the hotel employees’ union launching a pair of new ballot measures. Unite Here Local 11, which recently won approval of a $30 minimum wage hike for its members, proposed an ordinance to require voter approval for any hotel project that adds 80 or more rooms. Union co-president Kurt Petersen portrayed the measure as a response to an ongoing effort by the L.A. Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress, a business group, to repeal the $30 wage.

— THAT’S NOT ALL: Unite Here also unveiled a ballot proposal to hike the minimum wage for employees in non-tourism industries. Under city law, hotel employees currently receive a minimum wage of $20.32 per hour, compared to $17.28 for most non-tourism workers. The union’s new proposal would bring every worker in L.A. up to their level, jumping first to $22.50 and eventually reaching $30 in 2028.

— ALL ABOARD: Officials with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority plan to lease 2,700 buses to get people around the city for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The agency needs $2 billion to make that happen — and is hoping to secure the funding from the federal government.

— COLE FOR THE SUMMER: Chief Deputy Controller Rick Cole is stepping down on July 11 from his job with City Controller Kenneth Mejia. In his announcement on LinkedIn, Cole called Mejia an “inspiring young leader” who “blazed a new path for transparency and accountability.” He also acknowleged the demands he’s faced since winning a seat on the Pasadena City Council, which he called a “more-than-part-time role.” “Kenneth has been incredibly flexible and supportive but I recognize that I couldn’t do justice to both jobs indefinitely,” he wrote.

MAKING THE ROUNDS

In the wake of the protests and weeklong curfew, L.A.’s mayor has been offering support to businesses in Little Tokyo, the Civic Center and other areas hard hit in downtown by vandalism, graffiti and theft. Bass spent about half an hour on Wednesday visiting restaurants on 1st Street, whose windows were covered in plywood.

Bass dropped into Far Bar, Kaminari Gyoza Bar and other spots, chatting up the proprietors and posing for photos with customers. Afterward, she made an appeal to Trump to withdraw the U.S. Marines, saying things were safe and stable.

“In light of the fact that L.A. is peaceful, there are no protests, there isn’t any sign of vandalism or violence, I would call on the administration to please remove the troops,” she said.

Bass was quickly interrupted from Clemente Franco, an Echo Park resident who said he was frustrated with the state of the city — dirty streets, broken sidewalks, streetlights that are out because of copper wire theft.

“A year and a half with no lights,” he told deputy mayor Vahid Khorsand, who attempted to form a buffer between Franco and Bass. “A year and a half the lights have been off. They took the wires. The whole street is black.”

Khorsand asked Franco to provide him a list of problem locations.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to tackle homelessness did not launch any new outreach operations this week, according to her team.
• On the docket for next week: The council’s transportation committee is set to meet Wednesday to take up a proposal to regulate public space around L.A.’s “ghost kitchens,” which have generated complaints about unsafe traffic behavior and other neighborhood woes.

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to [email protected]. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

Returning to downtown L.A. restaurants after the curfew. The spirituality of red Fanta. “The most exciting place to eat in the South Bay in recent memory.” And a Crunchwrap Supreme plot twist. I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with this week’s Tasting Notes.

In the sunshine of our L.A. love

Chicken with radishes, tarragon mayonnaise and toasted milk bread at Cafe 2001 in downtown Los Angeles.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

I was happily eating a light lunch of poached chicken with an array of radishes, tarragon mayonnaise and buttered milk bread toast dusted with sea salt when our friendly and attentive waiter, just four days on the job, walked up holding a plate of sunshine: three beautifully fried corn fritters with flash-fried basil, a wedge of lime and a mound of salt for dipping. There was a dish of chile sauce too, but the corn’s sweetness, salt and herbs were all I needed on the day before the official start of summer.

I was at chef Giles Clark‘s Cafe 2001 with the editor of L.A. Times Food, Daniel Hernandez, and every table in the place was filled. The cafe’s big brother restaurant, Yess, from chef Junya Yamasaki, was boarded up at the front entrance facing 7th Street — the dinner-only spot closed during the recent downtown L.A. curfew — but we saw activity in the kitchen when we peeked through the glass blocks on the side of the restaurant and were hopeful that Yess would reopen that night.

As columnist Jenn Harris wrote this week, the seven-night curfew left downtown L.A. streets empty: “All along 2nd Street, the windows and doors were hidden behind plywood. … The frequently bustling Japanese Village Plaza, where shoppers dine at a revolving sushi bar and stop for cheese-filled corn dogs, was desolate.”

Now there are tentative signs of recovery.

Diners eat dinner at Kura Sushi in Little Tokyo on the evening the city’s curfew was lifted. The restaurant’s glass doors were covered in plywood, but open.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

“Hours after the curfew was lifted Tuesday, downtown started to show signs of coming to life again,” Harris wrote. “Just before 7 p.m., a line began to form at Daikokuya in Little Tokyo … known as much for the perpetual wait as it is for its steaming bowls of tonkotsu ramen. It was a hopeful sight.”

Yet, as Harris also reported, Kato, the three-time No. 1 restaurant on the L.A. Times 101 list, whose chef, Jon Yao, was named the best chef in California at this week’s James Beard Awards, “was still looking at a 70% drop in reservations for the upcoming week” after the curfew’s end.

Kato chef-owner Jon Yao was named the best chef in California at this week’s James Beard Awards.

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

“The direct impact of the media’s portrayal of DTLA being unsafe, which it is not, has impacted Kato,” Ryan Bailey, a partner in the restaurant told Harris.

Certainly downtown is frequently portrayed, “as a sometimes dodgy place to live and work.” But “despite myriad challenges,” reported real estate specialist Roger Vincent this week, “downtown L.A. is staging a comeback. … Occupancy in downtown apartments has remained about 90% for more than a year … slightly higher than the level before the pandemic. … In fact, the downtown population has more than tripled since 2000, reflecting a dynamic shift in the city center’s character toward a 24-hour lifestyle.”

On Tuesday night, I met reporter Stephanie Breijo at Hama Sushi, another Little Tokyo spot where the wait is usually lengthy, and was able to get a spot at the sushi bar by arriving before 6 p.m. The place quickly filled up behind us.

Funeral wreaths outside Hama Sushi in downtown L.A.’s Little Tokyo to honor the memory of longtime owner Tsutomu Iyama, who has passed away. Plywood was still covering some of the restaurant’s windows from the curfew that had been imposed by Mayor Karen Bass.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

Though some were at Hama to support downtown, many came to pay their respects to the memory of recently deceased owner Tsutomu Iyama. Breijo will be reporting on the life and legacy of Iyama in the coming days, but on Tuesday night the longtime staff was on top of its game, serving affordable but excellent sushi, without gimmicks as Iyama intended.

The counter scene at Hama Sushi in downtown L.A.’s Little Tokyo.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

Fried shrimp heads served with sweet shrimp at Hama Sushi in downtown L.A.’s Little Tokyo.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

Two days later I was at Cafe 2001, which has become one of my favorite — and most useful — restaurants in the city, open all day and into the evening on weekends. In our recent brunch guide, I wrote about Clark’s red-wine-poached egg, my partner, John, swears by Clark’s caponata, and deputy food editor Betty Hallock loves “his versions of a quintessential yoshoku icon, the Japanese potato salad … [sometimes] kabocha pumpkin and puntarelle with blood orange and fermented chiles [or] a verdant pea and potato salad with lemon-y pea tendrils.”

But my current favorite Clark dish? Those light and crisp corn fritters. They were the perfect welcome back downtown gift after a tense week of closed restaurants.

Looking for the American dream

Employees of the Vallarta Supermarket in Carson serve aguas frescas and ice cream to customers on June 13.

(Lauren Ng / Los Angeles Times)

“I’ve … had customers come in and tell me, ‘The American dream doesn’t exist anymore.’” That’s Evelin Gomez, a juice bar worker at the Carson location of Vallarta Supermarket, speaking with reporter Lauren Ng. Ng checked social media accounts and conducted interviews with people in grocery stores and restaurants founded by immigrants and the children of immigrants about what they are witnessing with the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement actions in Southern California.

Christy Vega, owner of Casa Vega in Sherman Oaks.

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

The independent-minded Casa Vega owner Christy Vega, who supported Rick Caruso over Karen Bass for mayor in the most recent election, “has been an outspoken critic of ICE,” Ng wrote.

“I protested in honor of my Mexican immigrant father, Rafael Evaristo Vega, and the very people Casa Vega was built on since 1956,” Vega wrote on Instagram of her attendance at a “No Kings” protest. “I will always remember my roots and ALWAYS fight for the voiceless immigrant community.”

Some restaurateurs, as Stephanie Breijo reported, have been coordinating grocery handouts and deliveries for those fearing being swept up in ICE raids.

“We understand the feelings that are happening in our community right now, even if we are legal,” said Xochitl Flores-Marcial, a partner in Boyle Heights’ X’tiosu with its chef-founders, Felipe and Ignacio Santiago. “Even if we have documents, that doesn’t exempt us from the danger that so many people are facing right now and in our culture.”

Meanwhile, assistant food editor Danielle Dorsey, put together a guide to 15 different food fundraisers and events to support those affected by ICE actions. Many are happening this weekend.

South Bay hot spot

Co-chefs Kevin de los Santos and Katya Shastova in the kitchen at Vin Folk in Hermosa Beach.

(Ron De Angelis / For The Times)

The young and ambitious staff at Vin Folk — with two alums of Aitor Zabala’s Somni leading the team of chef-servers — charmed columnist Jenn Harris during her visits to the Hermosa Beach restaurant created by chefs Kevin de los Santos and Katya Shastova.

“The dining room crackles with the hopeful, earnest energy of a start-up company, ripe with possibility,” she writes in her restaurant review published this week. “And with food that has all the technique and precision of a tasting menu restaurant with less of the fuss, it is without a doubt the most exciting place to eat in the South Bay in recent memory.” Some of the dishes she highlights: a savory tart that could be “a love child of mussels in escabeche and pot pie”; headcheese toast, “a loose interpretation of the patty melt at Langer’s Deli”; pritto, “a take on Taiwanese popcorn chicken”; “exceptionally tender” beef tongue, “an homage to Shastova’s childhood in rural southern Russia,” and a risotto-style interpretation of Singapore chili crab.

Vin Folk is also nurturing a new generation of chefs and restaurateurs: “Staff are trained in multiple positions, both in and out of the kitchen,” Harris writes. “Everyone helps with prep, then De los Santos and Shastova [place] members in positions where they may be strongest.”

“We are teaching them,” Shastova tells Harris. “You go through everything because we believe it’s important to learn every single detail of the restaurant if you want to have your own one day.”

Seeing red

Red Fanta presented as an offering at the spirit houses at Silom Supermarket in Thai Town.

(Emil Ravelo / For The Times)

In her latest Grocery Goblin dispatch, correspondent Vanessa Anderson examines why strawberry red Fanta — “known as Fanta nam daeng, or ‘Fanta red water’” — is seen in so many Thai shrines or spirit houses, many of which are set up at local grocery stores and restaurants. “Much like those on this earthly plane, the way to a spirit’s heart is through his or her stomach,” Anderson reports.

“In the past when we would do offerings to ghosts, it would be an offering of blood,” Pip Paganelli at Thai dessert shop Banh Kanom Thai, tells Anderson, who concludes that “the bubbly strawberry nectar has since replaced animal sacrifice.”

Paganelli, Anderson adds, also posits that red Fanta’s “sickly sweetness … is beloved by ghosts because of just that. Most spirits have a sweet tooth.”

• And even though Juneteenth has passed, the recipes that deputy food editor Danielle Dorsey gathered to celebrate the holiday are delicious all year long — and often feature red foods that some say “honors the bloodshed and suffering of enslaved ancestors.” Others say that red symbolizes power.

Crunchwrapped

The shark from “Jaws” looking for a good bite in the 1975 film.

(Universal)

The anniversary none of our social media feeds or TV news anchors will let us forget this week is the release 50 years ago of Steven Spielberg‘s “eating machine” blockbuster “Jaws.” But columnist Gustavo Arellano has another anniversary on this mind this week — the debut 20 years ago of Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap Supreme.

“The item has become essential for American consumers who like their Mexican food cheap and gimmicky,” he wrote this week, “which is to say, basically everyone (birria ramen, anybody?)” The plot twist is that Arellano, author of “Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America,” had never actually eaten a Crunchwrap Supreme until this month. And when he finally did try it? Let’s just say it lacked the crunch he was looking for. I’ll let you read his column to find out why he prefers the bean-and-cheese burritos and Del Taco.

Bonus: Arellano references Jenn Harris’ 2015 story and recipe for a homemade Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme, to be enjoyed in the comfort of your home, without the “bad playlists, scratchy paper napkins and fluorescent lighting” of a fast food restaurant. I think hers would have the crunch Arellano seeks.

Also …

• Reporters Jessica Garrison and Melissa Gomez report that “as the crucial summer harvest season gets underway in California’s vast agricultural regions, farmers and their workers say they feel whiplashed by a series of contradictory signals about how the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration might affect them. California grows more than one-third of the country’s vegetables and more than three-quarters of the nation’s fruits and nuts. … Without workers, the juicy beefsteak tomatoes that are ripening and must be hand-harvested will rot on the vines. The yellow peaches just reaching that delicate blend of sweet and tart will fall to the ground, unpicked. Same with the melons, grapes and cherries.”
• Danielle Dorsey culled 18 immigrant-founded restaurants in L.A. from our Hall of Fame list by critic Bill Addison and columnist Jenn Harris.

The current incarnation of Dodger ownership is not your grandfather’s Dodgers. In lieu of private, family ownership, you have one behemoth corporation, the Guggenheim Group, predicated on maximizing profit potential, and not giving a twit regarding social or moral imperatives. Doing the “right thing” might threaten their bottom line. After all, in their way of thinking, the business of America is business.” ICE thugs terrorizing part of their fan base’s families is not on their radar. It’s all about money.

Bob Teigan
Santa Susana

Why would Dylan Hernández be surprised by the Dodgers’ silence over the Trump Administration’s efforts to terrorize the Hispanic residents of greater Los Angeles? Never forget that Dodger Stadium stands on land acquired through similar tactics directed toward the Hispanic residents of Chavez Ravine.

BW Radley
Mission Viejo

So let me get this right. Seven months ago the Los Angeles Times editorial section declined to endorse either one of the candidates running for president of the United States, but today, Dylan Hernández, a columnist (which means he gives his opinion about topics) slammed the Dodgers for not taking a political stance on the current events in Los Angeles. Mr. Hernández, the Dodgers are a pro sports franchise, not a political party. Maybe if you want to continue to write about politics you should transfer to the Op-Ed department and leave the sports section to sports

Russell Morgan
Carson

Mr. Hernández’s diatribe in The Times is yet another example of his inability to comprehend legal from illegal status. He would have the Dodgers condemn the removal of those illegally in our country. The Dodgers ownership made the correct decision to remain silent. Do not reward the law breaker who was aware of the possible consequences from the beginning.

Bill Tewksbury
Marion, Mont.
.

Thank you, Kiké Hernández, for standing up for Angelenos while they are being targeted because of the color of their skin. There is no larger supporter of the Dodgers than the Mexican-American community. The Dodger ownership should show that support works both ways.

Mike Gamboa
Buena Park

Lloyd Lake, the San Diego man at the center of the Reggie Bush extra benefits saga, scored a major legal victory this week over the former USC running back after a Van Nuys judge upheld an arbitrator’s decision to award Lake nearly $1.4 million in his defamation suit against Bush.

Lake filed the suit against Bush back in February 2023 — along with his parents, Roy and Barbara Gunner — alleging that Bush publicly disparaged and defamed him during a podcast appearance and in social media posts and, as such, violated the non-disparagement clause they agreed upon in a previous settlement. The comments, according to Lake and his parents’ complaint, “created a firestorm of vitriol” that saw the Gunner home vandalized with graffiti and left them fearing for their safety.

The judge’s decision this week came more than 15 years after the first explosive lawsuit between the two men was settled. That suit, which Lake first filed in 2007, claimed that he and another businessman, Michael Michaels, had provided Bush and his family with cash, a car, rent-free use of a house and other gifts while he played at USC in 2004 and 2005 with the expectation Bush would sign with Lake and his fledgling sports management company, New Era Sports & Entertainment.

The first case was settled in April 2010, just before Bush and Michaels were scheduled to be deposed. But Lake’s account of their arrangement, which violated NCAA rules, had already prompted a firestorm, one that ultimately ended in severe sanctions for USC’s football program, the vacating of the Trojans’ 2004 national title and the return of Bush’s Heisman Trophy.

As college athletes were allowed to receive compensation for use of their name, image and likeness and public opinion began shifting toward Bush, the legendary Trojan running back began sharing more about his experience and the saga that would come to define him. In an appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, Bush opened up about the emotional toll the case and losing his Heisman Trophy took on him and his family. Bush eventually succeeded in having the Heisman returned to him in 2024.

Neither of the two men had spoken publicly about the other in more than a decade, abiding by the non-disparagement agreement in their 2010 settlement. At the time of that agreement, all parties involved — including Bush’s mother and stepfather — agreed to “not make any statements or representations to any person that may cast another Party to this Agreement in an unfavorable light, that are offensive to or disparage them, or that could adversely affect their name and reputation.”

But during the 2022 podcast interview, Bush went on to accuse Lake of blackmail and exaggerate Lake’s criminal record, which he said was “as long as the Cheesecake Factory menu.” Months later, in a Twitter post, Bush falsely accused Lake of being a convicted rapist.

The same week the podcast was published, the Gunners’ home was vandalized with graffiti. The threatening message left behind, written in red spray paint on an outside wall, read: “Help Reggie Bush Get His Trophy Back F— Crook.” The number “187” was also spray painted on the wall, which the plaintiff attorneys say referred to the state penal code number for murder. They blamed the graffiti on “unknown bad actors” working “on behalf of or at the direction of Bush.”

Lake’s attorneys first sought to bring the case to a jury trial. But a judge ruled in June 2024, that Lake’s lawsuit against Bush would go to binding, confidential arbitration, per the terms of their original settlement.

The arbitrator in the case, Jeffrey G. Benz, ultimately ruled in Lake’s favor, awarding him $500,000, as well as $764,640 in attorneys’ fees and $116,780 in other costs, according to court documents. Still, Bush’s attorneys continued to challenge the ruling by arguing that Benz had exceeded his authority as the arbitrator.

Their latest challenge was quashed this week by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Eric Harmon, who took only a few hours to reaffirm the arbitrator’s decision.

But Bush and his legal team succeeded, in one respect: Bush’s responses to Lake’s petition, as well as other supporting exhibits and documents pertaining to Bush’s side of the case, remain under seal or heavily redacted.

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who needs a break from politicians’ interpretations of the Bible.

The fifth season of “The Chosen,” the faith-based TV series that has found success releasing select seasons in theaters, has begun its three-week rollout on Prime Video. George Xanthis, who plays John the Apostle, stopped by Guest Spot to discuss the show.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our streaming recommendations include a documentary that delves into the origin story of New Orleans’ first Black Mardi Gras krewe, and the latest installment in the travelogue adventures of actors/BFFs Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, known for their motorcycle journeys in “Long Way Round” and “Long Way Down.” This time, the pair is riding from McGregor’s home in Scotland to Boorman’s in England.

ICYMI

Must-read stories you might have missed

Showrunners R. Scott Gemmill (“The Pitt”), Lauren LeFranc (“The Penguin”), Craig Mazin (“The Last of Us”), Debora Cahn (“The Diplomat”), Seth Rogen (“The Studio”) and Jen Statsky (“Hacks”) pose for The Envelope’s Writers Emmy Roundtable.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Is it too late to reverse Hollywood’s runaway production? Writers on the ‘stark’ reality: Writers from six of the year’s most entertaining and acclaimed TV series open up about runaway production, the binge model and tuning out (or into) social media.

In ‘The Waterfront,’ ‘Dawson’s Creek’ creator Kevin Williamson returns to his gritty roots: The main characters in the new Netflix series are a multigenerational cast of adults whose lives are glossier and grittier than what audiences remember from the “Dawson’s” gang.

Before social media, Barbara Walters said ‘Tell Me Everything.’ And many did: A new documentary coming to Hulu recounts Walters’ groundbreaking TV career from the early days of “Today” to “The View.”

A dream team reunites to bring zombie horror home again in ‘28 Years Later’: Director Danny Boyle, screenwriter Alex Garland and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle return to the terrifying world they created for 2002’s “28 Days Later.”

Turn on

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Randolph Davis in a scene from “A King Like Me.”

(Netflix)

“A King Like Me” (Netflix)

Matthew O. Henderson has made a lively, lovely documentary about the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club of New Orleans, preeminent among the krewes that parade on Mardis Gras. (You will know them by the painted coconuts they toss, their makeup and grass skirts.) It’s a history, a celebration and a disquisition, whose interests range from the benevolent societies that provided a form of neighborhood insurance, to the electioneering of men hoping to become that year’s king — Louis Armstrong served in 1949 — to surviving racism, Katrina and COVID (or not). The question is raised of whether the Zulus, Black men who have paraded in a sort of altered blackface and “African” dress for more than 100 years, should give up the long-controversial makeup or preserve it as a generations-old tradition; Henderson doesn’t take a side, but lets his subjects have their nuanced say. And as any film about New Orleans must, it’s full of music and food, hanging out and dancing in the streets. — Robert Lloyd

Charley Boorman, left, and Ewan McGregor in AppleTV+’s “Long Way Home.”

(Apple TV+)

“Long Way Home” (AppleTV+)

When “Outlander” debuted on Starz in August 2014, many Americans were as dazzled by Scotland, with its looming fells, pristine lakes and lyrical accents as they were by the time traveling love story. Since then, Scotland has become the new England, at least on television. Streamers are bursting with all manner of Scottish series, from the classics (“Rebus,” the 2000s original available on BritBox and the remake, on ViaPlay) to the brand new (“Dept. Q” on Netflix). In between are shows too numerous and diverse to name but given my penchant for murder mysteries, it is not surprising that my favorites include: “Case Histories” (Acorn TV, Tubi), “Shetland” (BritBox), “The Loch” (BritBox), “Karen Pirie” (BritBox) and “Annika” (PBS) — all of which offer breathtaking scenery, ancient stone edifices and, most important, a glowering, windswept alternative to Los Angeles, particularly in summer That’s exactly what I was looking for when I tuned into “Long Way Home” on Apple TV+.

The fourth installment of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s motorcycle adventures around the world begins at McGregor’s Scottish home, winds its way through Scandinavia into the Arctic, thence through the Baltic states and through continental Europe before finishing up back in Scotland. Having no European vacation plans of my own, it seemed a fine visual substitute; McGregor is always a charming screen presence, as is Boorman. It’s been five years since they joined forces for “Long Way Down,” 20 since their first trip in “Long Way Round,” and watching two 50-somethings hitch themselves onto vintage bikes to embark on a 19,000-mile journey to the Arctic and back is pretty inspiring — even if one of them has a name and face that guarantees a certain starstruck quality from even citizens of rural Finland and both have a multiperson camera crew/backup team should anything go seriously wrong.

Unlike other travelogues, this series does not linger over cuisine, haute or otherwise (there is a continual quest for coffee), aiming instead for a scattering of local crafts, traditions and events. The ever-shifting landscape is, in fact, amazingly beautiful, the people they meet along the way are often quite fascinating. The best parts, of course, are the unexpected bad weather, an unexpected road closure, an impromptu concertand mosquitoes. The bikes grumble and occasionally break down, as do the 50-somethings, which is reassuring to us ordinary folk who get to see the glory of all without having to straddle a motorcycle for two months. At 10 episodes that average 40 minutes, “Long Way Home” covers a lot of ground in a way that is both slow and speedy. My only complaint? Not nearly enough Scotland. — Mary McNamara

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

George Xanthis, left, as John and Jonathan Roumie as Jesus in “The Chosen: Last Supper.”

(Photo from Prime Video)

Season 5 of “The Chosen,” the TV series about the life of Jesus that became a surprise hit, already played in movie theaters earlier this year, but fans looking for ways to fill prime rest hours can now watch all eight episodes at home. Created by Dallas Jenkins, the faith-based drama has attracted a devoted audience since its premiere in 2017 with its look at Jesus’ life and teachings — and has found success leaning into an unconventional distribution strategy, with theatrical releases of Seasons 3 through 5 that have made millions at the box office. The first two episodes of the fifth season, which is titled “Last Supper” and chronicles the events of Holy Week, are available to stream on Prime Video, with the next three episodes dropping Sunday, before concluding with another three-episode release on June 29. Australian actor George Xanthis, who plays John the Apostle, stopped by Guest Spot via email to talk about the show’s success and the Pixar film that’s become scripture to him. — Yvonne Villarreal

“The Chosen” is striking a chord with an underserved audience often overlooked by major Hollywood studios. As an actor, did you feel any stigma about venturing into faith-based content? What has the experience of making it — and the response to it — illuminated for you?

I’ll start by saying that upon reading the first episode and finding out I was playing a “fisherman” by the name of “John,” I actually had no idea the project was faith-based! I think that tells you where this series has found success — it doesn’t read or play like something that is strictly faith-based, or something that is attempting to convert you. It’s a show about the real people that would have lived through first century Judea, how they battled against crippling Roman occupation and how they found refuge in a peaceful, love-preaching Rabbi. I guess I didn’t have time to feel any stigma, and before I knew it, we were a megahit all around the globe!

For the audience, there’s often a blurring of lines between performer and role. That would seem to be an interesting dynamic when portraying a figure of faith — how do you grapple with that push and pull of serving as a conduit for someone’s relationship to their faith while maintaining your grip on your function as an actor?

The show’s success has come from taking these “saints” in the apostles and bringing them away from the paintings and iconography we recognize and telling an origin story that audiences can relate to. At the end of the day, I am not necessarily depicting a saint as a figure of faith, but rather, I am a fisherman from Capernaum with a hot temperament learning to control his impulses with the lessons of love and compassion his Rabbi is teaching him. It’s important to respect people’s identification with these figures in whatever way they want to, but for me the best feedback I’ve received from fans about my portrayal of John has been how they see parts of themselves in John, when he makes mistakes, when he learns from his mistakes, when he makes them AGAIN and so on.

You’ve played real-life figures like George Stephanopoulos in “Impeachment: American Crime Story” and John Travolta in an Olivia Newton-John TV biopic. How does your approach and your mission with those known figures compare to what you’re striving to achieve with your portrayal of John the Apostle?

I started out in this industry in comedy, both stand-up and sketch comedy. A large part of my comedic success has come from doing impressions and impersonating notable people. When I got the roles of John Travolta and George Stephanopoulos, my process was the same as any impression — find the voice, find the body, mold myself into the people based on what I could see of them and mimic them as well as I could. With John [the Apostle], I’m depicting a real person but I don’t have the luxury of watching videos of him. So instead, the character arc helps govern my character building. An eager-to-please “Son of Thunder” has a short temper, sometimes waning patience but at the center of him is a compassionate soul who always looks out for others he cares about. It means my palate to play with is quite broad, and John’s temperament for any given moment usually exists somewhere between these extremes of “thunder” and “love.”

What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?

The most recent series I finished was “Peaky Blinders” (Netflix). Being an Australian and part of the Commonwealth, British-based television holds a special place in my heart, and I loved watching Birmingham come to life through the brutal eyes of Thomas Shelby. It’s a bucket list item of mine to be in a British film or series watching so much of it growing up. Here’s to hoping!

What’s your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again?

There are so many, but becoming a new father, I realized just how much I have watched “Toy Story” (Disney+) and how much time I still have for that film. I’ll still watch it on planes as I make the 14-hour commute between Australia and the U.S. when there’s nothing else to watch. Fun fact: I can quote the movie word-for-word from beginning to end. Pick a moment, and I can carry on the movie verbatim — voices, music, sound effects and all!

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in its final month of debris removal in Altadena. It has already cleared thousands of properties destroyed in January’s devastating Eaton fire and is working on the toxic ash and refuse that remains. Once the immediacy of that task fades, years of accounting for the neighborhood’s many losses lie ahead, as does the ongoing rebuilding.

The California African American Museum is contributing to that work with “Ode to ’Dena: Black Artistic Legacies of Altadena,” an exhibition on view through Oct. 12. The exhibition — organized in just three months in response to the fire — is curated by Dominique Gallery founder Dominique Clayton. It seeks to illustrate the importance of the unincorporated foothill community to Black artists including midcentury figures like Charles White, as well as contemporary practitioners including Martine Syms and Kenturah Davis.

Between 1910 and 1970, approximately 6 million Black Americans migrated from the South to other parts of the U.S.. In Southern California, Altadena became an attractive place for Black families to settle. The area didn’t participate in the redlining practices of other neighborhoods, making it a relatively welcoming place.

Many of those residents were artists and musicians, including the famed assemblage artist and former director of the Watts Towers Arts Center, John Outterbridge, whose home and studio burned in the fire. (Outterbridge died in 2020.)

In an online description of the “Ode to ’Dena” exhibition, CAAM notes that Altadena was “hailed as the epicenter of Black arts activity in Los Angeles County,” during the 1950s and ’60s, although that artistic center of gravity later shifted toward Watts after the 1965 Watts Rebellion. Nonetheless, CAAM notes, “Altadena continued to develop as a vibrant and creative haven with a distinctive Black cultural imprint. Since then, Altadena and the adjacent city of Pasadena have served as home to an extraordinary array of Black artists, educators, musicians, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and activists.”

In addition to Outterbridge, White, Syms and Davis, the CAAM exhibit includes work by Betye Saar, Richmond Barthé, Mark Steven Greenfield, Nikki High, Bennie Maupin, Marcus Leslie Singleton, La Monte Westmoreland and Keni “Arts” Davis.

The Times’ Noah Goldberg wrote a feature on Davis after the Eaton fire — highlighting how the retired 75-year-old Hollywood set painter spent 40 years creating watercolors of his beloved neighborhood. After the destruction, he began painting the wreckage.

For more information on CAAM and the exhibition, click here.

I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt here with an important Essential Arts update: From today forward, this newsletter will now run on Friday only — rather than Monday and Friday. Here’s this week’s slew of arts news.

Best bets: On our radar this week

The Euterpides & Serenade
It’s the last two weekends to catch young composer Alma Deutscher’s debut ballet, “The Euterpides,” a world-premiere collaboration with American Contemporary Ballet Director Lincoln Jones. The work is paired with George Balanchine’s “Serenade,” set to music by Tchaikovsky.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; June 26-28. Television City, 200 N. Fairfax Ave., Stage 33. acbdances.com

KCRW and CAAM Summer Nights
What better way to kick off summer than an all-ages dance party? In between live sets from guest DJ Damar Davis and KCRW DJ Novena Carmel cool your heels in California African American Museum’s galleries, currently featuring solo exhibitions by Awol Erizku, Darol Olu Kae, Nellie Mae Rowe and Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, plus the aforementioned “Ode to ’Dena” and a group exhibition of artists inspired by the concept of reparations. There will also be food trucks, a beer garden and crafts. Best of all? It’s free with an RSVP.
7-11 p.m. Friday. California African American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park. caamuseum.org

Patrick Dailey, center, and the W. Crimm Singers will perform Saturday at BroadStage in Santa Monica.

(BroadStage)

Sing the Story: Celebrating Black Artistry From Gospel To Soul
Patrick Dailey and the W. Crimm Singers, an ensemble devoted to the Black experience and its expression through music, take to the BroadStage for a genre-blending evening featuring spiritual medleys, soul classics and more. Part of a series of blues rhythms curated by the Reverend Shawn Amos.
8 p.m. Saturday. The Plaza, 1310 11th St. Santa Monica. broadstage.org/

Wendy Red Star, Indian Summer, 2016, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Loren G. Lipson.

(Wendy Red Star)

Before You Now: Capturing the Self in Portraiture
The Vincent Price Museum hosts a selection of photographs, prints, drawings, videos and installation art from LACMA’s collections that explores how American artists see and present themselves in their work. Laura Aguilar, Kwame Brathwaite, Kalli Arte Collective, Jennifer Moon, Wendy Red Star, Roger Shimomura, Cindy Sherman, Rodrigo Valenzuela and June Wayne are among the more than 50 artists redefining and expanding the concept of identity.
Saturday through Aug. 30. Vincent Price Art Museum, East Los Angeles College, 1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Monterey Park. vincentpriceartmuseum.org

Woody De Othello, “Still Life (Luggage and Things in Hand, Ready to Go),” 2020. Acrylic, gouache, watercolor and crayon on paper, 25.75 x 20 x 1 in. Private collection.

(Courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman Gallery.)

2025 California Biennial: Desperate, Scared, But Social
The latest edition of the large-scale, Golden State-focused exhibition explores the “richness of late adolescence, a stage of life full of hope and potential yet fraught with awkwardness, anxiety, and myriad pressures.” The show’s 12 featured artists include well-established veterans and some who are still teenagers: Seth Bogart; punk rock band Emily’s Sassy Lime (Emily Ryan, Amy Yao, Wendy Yao); rock band the Linda Lindas (Lucia de la Garza, Mila de la Garza, Eloise Won and Bela Salazar); Miranda July; Stanya Kahn; Heesoo Kwon; Woody De Othello; Laura Owens; Brontez Purnell; Griselda Rosas; Deanna Templeton; and Joey Terrill. The Biennial also features a presentation of paintings from the Gardena High School Art Collection, an assemblage of California Impressionism that began in 1919, and a program curated by present-day teenagers of works drawn from the Orange County Museum of Art collection.
Saturday through Jan. 4. Orange County Museum of Art, 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. ocma.art

When the Violin
Choreographer/dancer Yamini Kalluri joins violinist Vijay Gupta for an evening of music by JS Bach and Reena Esmail. The program combines poetry, music and a combination of modern and traditional Kuchipudi dance.
7:30 p.m. Saturday. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. sierramadreplayhouse.org

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1918, by Alfred Stieglitz.

(National Gallery of Art)

Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light
A new documentary on the iconic American artist from Academy Award-winning director Paul Wagner (“The Stone Carver”). The film covers O’Keeffe’s life from Jazz Age New York to the New Mexico desert and features music by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch and narration by Hugh Dancy, with Claire Danes as the voice of O’Keeffe.
7 p.m. Tuesday. Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd.; Aug. 2, Laemmle Newhall, Laemmle Glendale, Laemmle Town Center 5, Encino, Laemmle Monica Film Center and Laemmle Claremont 5. laemmle.com/film/georgia-okeeffe-brightness-light

Culture news

Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, in 2017.

(Kevin Wolf / AP Images for National Portrait Gallery)

The drama surrounding President Trump’s purported firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet reached a conclusion last week when Sajet decided to step down on her own terms. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. This was not an easy decision, but I believe it is the right one,” Sajet wrote in a note to staff shared in an email by the Smithsonian Institution’s leader, Lonnie Bunch. Sajet’s announcement came two weeks after Trump claimed to have fired her for being, “a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI.” About a week later, the Smithsonian Institution released a statement asserting its independence in the face of Trump’s order, but that seems to not have been enough to persuade Sajet to stay.

The SoCal scene

Noah Davis, “1975 (8),” 2013, oil on canvas

(Kerry McFate)

The work of Seattle-born, L.A.-based artist Noah Davis — who died of a rare form of liposarcoma at the the age of 32 — is the subject of Times art critic Christopher Knight’s latest review. The Hammer Museum is staging a retrospective of Davis’ paintings. It’s only composed of about three dozen pieces, but Knight says it’s more than enough to show that “when Davis was good, he was very good indeed.” It is clear, Knight notes, that had his life not been cut tragically short, Davis was well on his way to further accomplishment. “The show affirms his gift for what it was: Davis was a painter’s painter, a deeply thoughtful and idiosyncratic Black voice heard by other artists and aficionados, even as his work was in invigorating development,” Knight writes.

The 2025 Ojai Music Festival was one of the best, writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed, of the annual event in the bucolic Ventura County town. Founded nearly 80 years ago by an East Coast music lover named John Leopold Jergens Bauer, the event was originally meant to be California’s answer to the Salzburg Festival. That aspiration never quite came to pass, but over the years the progressive gathering staged mostly at the Libbey Bowl has come to embody a groundbreaking ideal of new music. This year’s music director was the flutist Claire Chase, who, according to Swed, “collected concerned composers on a quest for a kind of eco-sonics capable of conjuring up the pleasure of nature and, in the process, saving our sanity.”

Last Saturday, Esa-Pekka Salonen, “conducted his San Francisco Symphony in a staggering performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, known as the ‘Resurrection.’ It was a ferocious performance and an exalted one of gripping intensity,” Swed wrote in a glowing review of the legendary conductor’s final show with the troubled orchestra he opted to leave when he decided not to renew his contact after five years of serving as its music director. “The audience responded with a stunned and tumultuous standing ovation,” Swed notes.

Times reporter Kailyn Brown headed to the Music Center on Sunday — a day after the city’s massive “No Kings” protests — to talk to audience members who attended L.A. Opera’s “Rigoletto” and Center Theater Group’s “Hamlet” despite the recent tumult and nighttime curfew in downtown L.A. In a series of interviews, accompanied by smiling photos, Brown’s reporting shows what many Angelenos have been trying to tell friends and family outside of the city: It’s not as bad as it may seem on your social media feeds. Downtown L.A. is more or less back to normal. And besides: It’s never a bad idea to show up in support of the arts.

The marquee for the UCLA Nimoy Theater.

(Misha Gravenor)

CAP UCLA announced its 2025-26 season — its second under its new Executive and Artistic Director Edgar Miramontes. This season’s offerings include 30 performances featuring more than 100 international artists. “As borders become more intensified, Miramontes is committed to continued international exchange of ideas and learnings to encourage more empathy, connection, and shared understanding through presentations by acclaimed artists from around the world, spanning genre-defying jazz, Afro-Latin fusion, 21st-century classical music, and exciting new works in dance and theater,” the season release explains. Shows include: the Mexican collective Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol; basoonist and composer Joy Guidry; the jazz singer Lucía; trumpeter and composer Milena Casado; and Cuban musicians Alfredo Rodriguez and Pedrito Martínez, along with many others. “This season is more than a series of performances — it is a call to community,” Miramontes wrote in a note to patrons. “Exciting new theater, revolutionary music, and dance remind us that unity is not an ideal — it is an act. The stage becomes our platform, our laboratory, our refuge. Here, we witness. We reckon. We rejoice.” For tickets and the full schedule, click here.

Playwright Michael Shayan has released a new Audible Original play titled “Cruising.” It’s directed by Robert O’Hara, who was nominated for a Tony Award for directing “Slave Play” and is also in the midst of presenting his world-premiere adaptation of “Hamlet” at the Mark Taper Forum. The comedy follows an aspiring gay playwright who — suffering from a summer of writer’s block and apathy in his Encino apartment — embarks on a flamboyant cruise in his imagination, only to discover that his real life is falling apart around him. “Cruising” features the voices of Christine Baranski, Tituss Burgess, Cecily Strong, André de Shields and Andrew Rannells, and can be streamed here.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra announced its 2025-26 season, which continues this year at the Wallis in the Bram Goldsmith Theater. Offerings include a concert of classics led by Music Director Jaime Martín, featuring the German French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt; guest conductor Dinis Sousa with German violinist Isabelle Faust; violinist Anthony Marwood; pianist Richard Goode playing Mozart; a Brahms concert; a Baroque salon featuring harpsichordist Pierre Hantaï; and a performance by soprano Amanda Forsythe. For tickets and more info, click here.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

What? You say you’d like a good beef roll for lunch? Me too! Here’s a list for where to find the best eight in the city by Times Food columnist Jenn Harris.

WAILUKU, Hawaii — Warm, breezy and feeling good.

That was the prevailing feeling among the Rams this week as they ended their off season with a “Mauicamp,” a low-key event heavy on bonding and light on drills for a team expected to contend for a championship.

Star quarterback Matthew Stafford is under contract for another potential Super Bowl run.

The Rams also added star receiver Davante Adams, drafted tight end Terrance Ferguson and bolstered depth to an ascending defensive front.

The Rams, however, have areas of concern as they head into a break before reporting to training camp at Loyola Marymount in July.

Offensive tackle and cornerback could be vulnerabilities for a team aiming to improve upon last season’s 10-7 record and an NFC divisional round loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Here’s how confident the Rams were in those positions going into free agency and the draft: They did not sign or select a player at either spot.

Whether that was wise is another matter.

Stafford, 37, remains the Rams’ most important player and — other than coach Sean McVay — their most valuable asset. So the tackles must foil edge rushers hellbent on hitting the quarterback while playing perhaps the most pressure-packed position other than Stafford’s.

With his play last season, Alaric Jackson convinced the Rams he was their longtime solution at left tackle. They awarded him a three-year contract that included $35 million in guarantees.

But uncertainty now reigns. Jackson sat out the final week of offseason workouts because he is dealing with blood-clot issues for the second time in his career. If, or when, he will be able to practice and play is unknown.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during organized team activities on June 3.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The Rams hurriedly signed D.J. Humphries, but the veteran is of late something of an unknown quantity. He played only two games last season for the Kansas City Chiefs after returning from major 2023 knee surgery and then suffering a hamstring injury.

Right tackle Rob Havenstein, 33, is entering his 11th season and the final year of his contract. He is coming off two shoulder surgeries.

Swing tackle Warren McClendon Jr. started five games last season, but he has not established himself as a frontline player. The Rams also recently signed eight-year pro David Quessenberry, who made 17 of his career 30 starts in 2021.

The Rams are confident in the secondary — in large part because of the defensive front.

A rush led by rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fiske helped the Rams rank 20th among 32 teams in pass defense last season. That rush is expected to improve with the addition of tackle Poona Ford and rookie edge rusher Josaiah Stewart.

So the Rams stood pat with the same defensive backs from last season.

Cornerback Darious Williams, 32, does not have salary guarantees beyond this season, according to Overthecap.com. Ahkello Witherspoon, 30, is playing on a one-year deal for the third consecutive season but was signed early enough this time to participate in offseason workouts.

Cobie Durant is in the final year of his rookie contract, and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. is trying to prove that the Washington Commanders erred by releasing the 2023 first-round pick last season.

Derion Kendrick, coming off a knee injury that forced him to sit out the 2024 season, was waived last week in a cost-cutting move and then re-signed with the Rams for a veteran-minimum contract. Josh Wallace and Charles Woods, undrafted free agents in 2024, also are on the roster.

McVay this week indicated that there were probably too many obstacles to trade for Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey, the three-time All-Pro who was an integral part of the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI championship team.

Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander was recently released by the Green Bay Packers, but McVay said last week that was “not a direction” the Rams would go. Alexander signed with the Baltimore Ravens, the Rams’ Week 6 opponent.

While the NFL largely shuts down until the start of training camp, general manager Les Snead in the past has added players before it opens and after it begins.

But for now, with their Hawaiian excursion behind them, the Rams appear ready to go with what they’ve got.

Despite once being a thriving network link, this tiny railway station has almost been completely abandoned – except for the two trains that stop here once a week, both heading in the same direction

A tiny railway station that ‘refuses to die’ has been around for 160 years – but is hardly used at all.

Situated near Gloucestershire, on the South Wales mainline between Cardiff and Bristol, lies the forgotten station of Pilning. With no staff and just one platform, the hub has become ‘criminally neglected’ and ‘rendered virtually unusable’ due to years of poor maintenance and lack of investment.

It hasn’t been completely abandoned, and remains on official rail maps, but has become ghostly vacant. In fact, only two trains now actually stop at the station per week, both heading in the same direction – making it one of the country’s least-used railway stations.

READ MORE: New 20k-mile train to link 100 EU cities with £67 tickets – but there’s a catch

The station did see a boom in passenger numbers during the pandemic – which climbed to 710 in 2019-2020. However, the year after this number fell down to 210, the worst record since 2015/2016.

But back in its heyday, Pilning station was thriving, boasting its own stationmaster, fourteen signalmen, six signalmen/porters, six porters, two ‘lad’ porters and a tunnel inspector. It was commonly used by Brits as a means of getting to the Severn Tunnel Junction, providing an alternative to the Aust Ferry or a long detour through Gloucester.

However, when the Severn Road Bridge opened in 1966, the station’s popularity plummeted. By 1990, its service had been slashed to just one train each way daily, during daylight hours. In 2006, this was reduced to just one train each per week, on a Saturday.

“In 2016, a real body blow – our footbridge was demolished and not replaced, leaving us with just two trains a week in one direction and none at all in the other,” Pilning Station Group, which is campaigning for the station to be brought back to life, said. “Was that the final kiss of death? No way – since then, the station’s official usage figures have shot up by a staggering 900 per cent, and our campaign for a better service and a reinstated footbridge has been steadily gathering support and momentum.”

Campaigners argue even ‘minor improvements’ to the station could make it more attractive to potential users, such as a later Saturday afternoon train that would allow passengers more time in Bristol. “A Saturday lunchtime train would enable visitors and rail enthusiasts to visit Pilning for a drink and a pub lunch at the nearby Plough Inn and catch the later train back,” they said.

“An early-morning Monday-Friday train to Bristol would give people a fast route to work or college, as an alternative to the slow and circuitous Severn Beach branch which is very crowded in the mornings. Restoration of platform lighting (removed about 30 years ago as it was allegedly life-expired) would enable trains to call again after dark.”

The eerie station has recently gone viral on social media, where it has been branded the ‘loneliest station’ in the UK. “I live next to this station,” one TikToker said. “The locals have been campaigning for years to have it reopened as we have next to no public transport links.”

Many Brits said they were interested about the forgotten hub, with one user stating: “I’m curious to visit it now.” Another agreed, commenting: “I would still go there,” while a third added: “Sounds like it needs a garden village built there as it has transport links.”

Do you have a story to share? Email us at [email protected] for a chance to be featured.

It was only a matter of time before the major Hollywood studios started taking the fight to the artificial intelligence industry over its alleged abuse of intellectual property.

Now, it’s on.

Last week, Walt Disney Co. and Universal Pictures sued AI firm Midjourney in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accusing the popular image generator of blatantly copying and profiting from copyrighted images of characters from franchises such as “Star Wars,” “Minions,” “Cars,” Marvel, “The Simpsons” and “Shrek.”

The complaint cited numerous examples, illustrated with dozens of striking photos, of San Francisco-based Midjourney’s technology being used to generate virtually indistinguishable copies of Darth Vader, Iron Man, Bart, Woody and Elsa, sometimes in frames quite similar to scenes from the actual movies and TV shows.

The lawsuit says Midjourney employed such images to promote its subscription service and encourage the use of its image generator. The companies are seeking unspecified monetary compensation, as well as a court order to stop Midjourney from further infringement, including by using studio-owned material to train its upcoming video tool.

“Midjourney is the quintessential copyright free-rider and a bottomless pit of plagiarism,” Disney and Universal’s lawyers wrote in the 110-page complaint. “Piracy is piracy, and whether an infringing image or video is made with AI or another technology does not make it any less infringing.”

The stakes of this battle are high, according to the studios. The AI company’s misuse of Disney and Universal’s intellectual property “threatens to upend the bedrock incentives of U.S. copyright law that drive American leadership in movies, television, and other creative arts,” the court document said.

Midjourney has not responded to requests for comment.

AI companies have typically argued that they are protected by “fair use” doctrine, which allows for the limited reproduction of material without permission from the copyright holder.

Midjourney founder David Holz in 2022 told Forbes that the company did not seek permission from copyright holders, saying “there isn’t really a way to get a hundred million images and know where they’re coming from.”

This battle is a long time coming.

Artists — including screenwriters, animators, illustrators and other entertainment industry workers — have been raising the alarm for years about the threat of AI, not just to their actual jobs but to the work they create. AI models are trained on anything and everything that’s publicly available on the internet, which includes copyrighted material owned by studios or the artists themselves, they argue.

The Writers Guild of America last year called on the big entertainment companies to take legal action against tech giants and startups in order to put a stop to such “theft.” But this is the first time any of the major film studios have gone after an AI company for copyright infringement. They may not be the last.

The studios are following the lead of the New York Times and other publishers, who sued OpenAI and its backer Microsoft over alleged plagiarism. The major music labels have also taken AI firms to court over the use of copyrighted music. Studios are in an awkward position because they’re weighing the possibility of licensing their content to AI firms or using the technology for their own purposes.

Reid Southen, a Michigan-based film concept artist whose research on AI was cited at length in the lawsuit, said he hopes Disney and Universal’s complaint encourages others to take a similar stance.

“Hopefully, I think other studios are looking at what’s going on with Disney and Universal now, and considering, ‘Hey, what about our properties?’” said Southen, who has worked on studio films including “The Matrix Resurrections,” “The Hunger Games” and “Blue Beetle.” “If Universal and Disney think they have a strong enough case to pursue this, I would hope other studios would take note of that and maybe pursue it as well.”

Southen became part of the story in December 2023, after the release of Midjourney v6 started making waves online. He saw someone use the tech to generate an image of Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker, and he started messing around with it himself to see what kinds of copyrighted material he could prompt it to rip off. He posted the results on social media, which led AI researcher Gary Marcus to reach out.

Marcus and Southen published an in-depth article for IEEE Spectrum in January 2024, making the case that Midjourney and other well-funded AI firms were training their models on copyrighted work without their permission or compensation and spitting out images nearly identical to the studios’ own material.

That article illustrated how simple prompts could produce nearly exact replicas of famous film and TV characters.

The prompts didn’t necessarily need to ask for a particular character by name.

The researchers were able to coax uncanny images from AI with prompts as basic as “animated toys” (resulting in pictures of “Toy Story” characters) and “videogame plumber” (which turned up versions of Mario from “Super Mario”). According to Marcus and Southen, all it took was the phrase “popular movie screencap” to evoke a picture similar to an actual frame from “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” or “The Dark Knight.”

“It shows that they are very clearly trained on hundreds, if not thousands, of movies and YouTube videos and screen caps and all this stuff, because I was able to find matching screen caps and images, not just from trailers, but from deep in movies themselves,” Southen said.

The Midjourney examples were the most egregious, Southen said, but the company was not the only offender. For instance, OpenAI’s image generation technology DALL-E was also capable of producing “plagiaristic” images of copyrighted characters without prompting them specifically by name, Southen said, echoing the findings of his and Marcus’ IEEE Spectrum article.

OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment. The Disney and Universal lawsuit did not name OpenAI, which is also responsible for the video generator Sora that is trying to take the film business by storm.

Many chatbots and text-to-image tools have guardrails around intellectual property, but they clearly have limitations. Ask ChatGPT to create an image of Kermit the Frog, and it will flatly reject the request. However, for example, I was recently able to request a picture of a Muppet-like female pig character, and the result was not unlike Miss Piggy, though I wouldn’t quite say it was a one-for-one copy.

Southen argues that this is a sign of a serious flaw in large language model training — the fact that they’ve already been fed on so much publicly available data. “Sometimes it’s not giving you something that’s spot-on, but it’s giving you enough that you know that it knows what it’s doing,” he said. “Like, you know where it’s pulling from.”

In public comments, studio executives have made it clear that they’re not against AI as a whole. “We are bullish on the promise of AI technology and optimistic about how it can be used responsibly as a tool to further human creativity,” said Horacio Gutierrez, Disney’s chief legal and compliance officer, in a statement on the lawsuit.

As media industry expert Peter Csathy put it in a recent newsletter, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do AI.

But even doing it the right way will be disruptive. Use of AI for storyboarding and pre-visualization could save millions of dollars, which translates to more job losses in the entertainment industry. Lionsgate and AMC Networks have announced deals to use AI to streamline operations and processes.

For artists like Southen, that’s a troubling reality. He said he has seen his annual income shrink in half since generative AI technology came on the scene.

“You can point at things like the strikes and other stuff going on, but the story is the same for most of the people that I know — that their income since all this stuff came has been dramatically impacted,” he said. “Work that was otherwise very steady for me for a long time is just nowhere to be found anymore.”

Stuff we wrote

Number of the week

Streaming just notched a significant milestone.

The technology’s share of total television usage overtook the combined viewership of broadcast and cable for the first time, according to Nielsen.

Streaming represented 44.8% of TV viewership in May 2025, the data firm said, marking a record, while broadcast clocked in at 20.1% and cable garnered 24.1% for a combined 44.2% going to linear viewing.

Nielsen cautioned that rankings may fluctuate because broadcast networks still command a tremendous share of eyeballs, particularly when NFL football airs.

Finally …

I caught some stellar acts at the Hollywood’s Bowl’s Blue Note Jazz Festival on Saturday. Shout-out to saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin and bassist Derrick Hodge. Here’s Benjamin’s Tiny Desk Concert performance for NPR.

Robert and John Sugden’s rivalry is getting out of control next week in Emmerdale while, in Corrie, the Weatherfield teens are forever changed by a night of partying.

Soap fans are set for another rollercoaster next week as some fan favourite characters will be left in the balance.

In Emmerdale, John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) is determined to keep half-brother Robert (Ryan Hawley) away from his marriage with Aaron Dingle – but could he claim another life as a result?

Over in Coronation Street, Weatherfield residents are trying to move on from the shocking death of PC Craig Tinker, prompting Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) to urge Aadi Alahan (Adam Hussain) to throw a party on the cobbles. But in true Corrie fashion, the night is set to spiral.

Much like ITV viewers, BBC One regulars will face their fair share of ups and downs in EastEnders with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) struggling to help Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley). But there’s more drama on the way in Neighbours, Hollyoaks and Home and Away.

READ MORE: Disney+ drops to £1.99 in rare deal Netflix and Amazon can’t beat

Emmerdale

Robert feels guilty about hurting Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) and decides to move out. John pressures Caleb (Will Ash) to end Robert’s trial employment. Caleb invents a cover story, leaving Robert disappointed – Jai (Chris Bisson) later confirms John’s interference.

After a tense confrontation with Robert, John tries to convince Victoria to report Robert for hitting her. Overhearing them, Robert is upset and seeks comfort in Aaron (Danny Miller), who rejects him.

Distraught, Robert tries to distract himself – only for John to intervene when Robert’s date drugs him. John drives off with unconscious Robert in his van, before towering over him with a syringe in hand.

Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant) mentions Sarah’s (Katie Hill) IVF to Cain (Jeff Hordley), assuming he knows and Cain is furious that Jacob is more in the loop than he is. But his angry reaction leaves him at odds with Sarah.

She later admits to Jacob that Cain’s behaviour has caused her to question herself. Jacob tries to reassure her and when she shares her fears over her mortality, he makes a bombshell proposition. Later, the seriousness of Sarah’s cancer operation becomes an unavoidable reality.

Elsewhere, Joe (Ned Porteous) hatches a plan to get revenge on Billy (Jay Kontzle) with the help of a newcomer. Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) overhears Tracy (Amy Walsh) making preparations for Nate’s funeral and seizes the opportunity to get the Dingles an invite.

Coronation Street

At Bernie’s suggestion, Aadi throws a midsummer party. Carla (Alison King) hands Betsy (Sydney Martin) the keys to the Underworld factory, asking her to lock up. But when Brody (Ryan Mulvey), Dylan (Liam McCheyne) and Lauren (Cait Fitton) walk in, she gets distracted and forgets.

The group heads to the party but when Brody shows Dylan a bottle of LSD, telling him he intends to make some money, Dylan is concerned. Meanwhile, romance is in the air for Amy and Aadi but a misunderstanding leaves him hurt.

Later, he kicks Brody out of the party after spotting him with LSD but when Brody’s gone, Aadi splits the LSD into three cups – and the night takes a devastating turn.

High on LSD, Summer (Harriet Bibby) and Nina (Mollie Gallagher) let themselves into the darkened café. When they hear the sound of sirens, they cling on to each other, terrified.

Confused, they then try to retrace their steps for answers. But when discussing what they witnessed that night, they agree to stay quiet. Kit (Jacob Roberts) tells Bernie he’s had the DNA results through and confirms he’s Brody’s biological father. Will he keep the news to himself?

Elsewhere, Liam (Charlie Wrenshall) confides in Maria (Samia Longchambon) that Gary (Mikey North) isn’t answering his calls, after expecting him to return from his mother’s. Maria masks her concerns for Liam – but where is Gary?

EastEnders

Phil worries about Nigel when he goes out barefoot but fears grow when Phil returns home to find chaos. Danger then strikes as Nigel and Phil bicker over a pan of boiling water.

Kat (Jessie Wallace) later clocks Phil is injured and, realising something is wrong, presses him to be honest about Nigel’s condition. Realising he’s in over his head, she visits Phil and suggests he needs extra support to take care of Nigel. Meanwhile, Nigel spirals as he helps Lexi (Isabella Brown) with her homework.

Yolande (Angela Wynter) organises a party for Patrick’s (Rudolph Walker) birthday and asks Elaine (Harriet Thorpe) to host at The Vic. Elaine agrees, roping in an overwhelmed Linda (Kellie Bright). When Linda is left to hold the first alone, George (Colin Salmon) steps in to help, causing Elaine to lash out.

Later, Elaine goes big for Patrick’s party, while Denzel (Jaden Ladega) welcomes his friends at the house. After trying to bribe his way in, Joel (Max Murray) takes Denzel to The Vic, where Elaine agrees to let them have a glass of punch each. But things go awry when the teens are left unsupervised.

Elsewhere, Nicola (Laura Doddington) and Teddy (Roland Manookian) are concerned for Barney (Lewis Bridgeman) when he fails a chemistry test because of the stress. Nicola tries to cheer him up, but scathing Harry (Elijah Holloway) throws a spanner in the works.

Hollyoaks

Prince has doubts over throwing a party for Mercedes but she tells her family to continue organising it. Jez is concerned to hear Dodger has planned to meet with Tori’s former social worker.

Later, Dodger investigates what happened to Dennis. After tracking him down, Jez meets with the social worker, who drops a bombshell about Dennis.

Donny arrives on police duty and privately informs Mercedes and Myra that Bobby has escaped the secure home, suspectedly in a social worker’s car.

Neighbours

Andrew and Holly embark on a road trip in search of answers about his biological family while Wendy rushes home for a job interview at the school.

She’s thrown to learn about Holly’s involvement in Andrew’s journey for clarity. Meanwhile, Karl is in hospital, subdued and introspective, as Jane secures an interview with Darcy in prison.

Elsewhere, Max’s mother, Yvette, and sister, Saskia, pay him a visit. But he’s shocked when Yvette announces she’d like Saskia to stay in Erinsborough.

Home and Away

Justin runs into Bree and Remi, desperate to get a message to Theo. Remi agrees – as long as he helps Kirby through her songwriting. When Kirby plays him some of her songs, Justin’s feedback is limited. His apparent lack of interest sends her spiralling.

Cash is desperate for Eden to go away with him, but she has other ideas, telling Mackenzie to decline on her behalf. But Cash gets Mackenzie on his side with a bombshell. Another shock then rattles the Bay – Eden’s mum, Deb.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

UC Irvine and Orange County Museum of Art have signed a nonbinding letter of intent, which, if approved by the University of California Board of Regents in the fall, would bring the museum under the university’s control, effectively merging it with UC Irvine’s Langson Institute and Museum of California Art.

The news comes two months after OCMA’s CEO, Heidi Zuckerman, announced her intention to step down in December, and a week before the museum launches its 2025 California Biennial, “Desperate, Scared, But Social,” set to run Saturday though Jan. 4.

“This represents a thoughtful next step in OCMA’s evolution,” said OCMA board chair David Emmes in an email. “Partnering with UC Irvine would offer new opportunities to strengthen our mission, expand educational impact, and position the museum as a lasting and dynamic cultural anchor for the region. We look forward to next steps and the possibilities of this collaboration.”

The $93-million, 53,000-square-foot OCMA building, designed by Morphosis, debuted in October 2022 as the crown jewel of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa — a full 35 years after it was announced as an ambitious plan by the small Newport Harbor Art Museum.

Its opening drew more than 10,000 visitors in its first 24 hours, and admission for the first decade of operation was made free thanks to the financial largesse of Newport Beach’s Lugano Diamonds. Cracks soon began to appear, though, as architectural critics and columnists, including The Times’ Carolina Miranda, noted that the pricey building did not seem to be fully finished.

OCMA’s contemporary collection has a broader scope than UC Irvine’s, which focuses on California art, including early 20th century California Impressionism. If the merger happens, UC Irvine would no longer build a planned new museum on its campus and instead fold that effort into OCMA. UC Irvine is in the early stages of searching for a director for its museum, but the parameters of that search are likely to change, too. OCMA has not yet launched its search for Zuckerman’s replacement, so the two efforts would probably be combined. No logistics for how that might work are yet available.

A merger would add the impressive Buck Collection to OCMA’s treasures, which real estate developer Gerald Buck bequeathed to UC Irvine upon his sudden death in 2017. Buck had amassed more than 3,200 paintings, sculptures and works on paper by some of the state’s most important artists, including Joan Brown, Jay DeFeo, Richard Diebenkorn, David Hockney and Ed Ruscha.

“OCMA has long contributed to the cultural vibrancy of our region, and UC Irvine is honored to explore this promising partnership,” said UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman in an email. “As a university committed to discovery, creativity, and public service, we see great potential in combining our strengths to expand access to the arts, deepen engagement with California’s artistic legacy, and support new generations of creators and scholars.”

The Board of Regents will vote on the merger in the fall. In the meantime, both institutions are in the exploratory stages of figuring out how a merger would work.

I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt looking to merge with some vacation time this summer. Here’s this week’s arts roundup.

Best bets: On our radar this week

Actor Peter Weller, left, and author William Burroughs, right, with director David Cronenberg on the set of the 1991 movie “Naked Lunch,” loosely based on Burroughs’ drug-infused novel of the same title.

(Jean-Louis Atlan / Sygma via Getty Images)

Naked Lunch
Vidiots hosts the local premiere of a new 4K remastering of David Cronenberg’s 1991 adaptation of William S. Burrough’s quasi-autobiographical novel. “I’m not trying to do ‘Naked Lunch’ literally,” Cronenberg told The Times upon the film’s release. “I’m doing something else. I’m writing about writing, so in a way I’m writing about the process of writing ‘Naked Lunch.’ ” But even that is motivated by something Burroughs says in the book: “There is only one thing a writer can write about: what is in front of his senses at the moment of writing … I am a recording instrument … I am not an entertainer.” The film’s star, Peter Weller, will be in attendance, signing his new book, “Leon Battista Alberti in Exile.”
7:30 p.m. Monday. Vidiots, Eagle Theater, 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd. vidiotsfoundation.org

Chris Shyer, Alison Ewing and the national touring company of “Parade,” opening at the Ahmanson Theatre on June 17.

(Joan Marcus)

Parade
Michael Arden’s triumphant Tony-winning 2023 Broadway revival of Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown’s musical drama proved that one of more challenging works in the modern musical repertory is an indisputable classic. This breathtakingly ambitious show tells the story of the 1913 trial of Leo Frank, a gross miscarriage of justice that culminated in his antisemitic lynching. While parsing the social and political context, the musical never loses sight of the protagonist and his wife, finding room for the heartbreaking personal side of an American tragedy that reveals the dark side of our collective past.
Tuesday through July 12, Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. centertheatregroup.org

Gay Liberation March on Times Square, 1969. Gelatin silver print.

(Diana Davies/Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations)

Queer Lens
With a provocative title that centers queer imagery within established photographic history since the mid-19th century, this exhibition will examine the ways in which the accessibility and immediacy of camerawork have shaped perceptions of LGBTQ+ people. Organized chronologically, “Queer Lens” spans from “Homosocial Culture and Romantic Friendships, 1810-1868” to “The Future is Queer, 2015-2025,” with sections covering language and identity, the gay liberation movement, the AIDS crisis and more.
Tuesday through Sept. 28. J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu

Culture news

President Trump stands in the presidential box as he tours the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on March 17.

(Associated Press)

President Trump made a grand red carpet appearance at the Kennedy Center premiere of “Les Misérables” on Wednesday. This marked the first time the president has attended a show at the theater since firing its board and installing himself as chairman. With First Lady Melania Trump on his arm, the president took his seat in the president’s box. The Washington Post reported that he was greeted by boos before “cheers and chants of ‘U.S.A.!’ sought to compete.” The following day, the White House Office of Communications issued a press release titled “President Trump, First Lady Met with Standing Ovation at Kennedy Center,” which went on to describe “thunderous applause.” A video in the Post story depicts a different reality.

The SoCal scene

Miami City Ballet’s “Swan Lake.”

(Alexander Iziliaev)

Miami City Ballet is bringing Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ Segerstrom Hall for five performances June 20-22. It’s a special version of the classic ballet choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky — the former director of Moscow Bolshoi Ballet who left Russia in in 2008 and later became an artist in residence at both American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet. Ratmansky reimagined “Swan Lake” using historical information and archival documents dating to an 1895 premiere at St. Peterberg’s Mariinsky Theatre, choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. That revival, based on an 1877 ballet titled “The Lake of the Swans,” became the favored version going forward, and Ratmansky has used this historical context to anchor his interpretation, with music played live by Pacific Symphony. Tickets are available at scfta.org.

Orange County Museum of Art is throwing a free block party from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, to celebrate the opening of its 2025 California Biennial, ”Desperate, Scared, But Social.” The event will feature a curator-led tour of the exhibit as well of plenty of food trucks and artist-themed snacks at the museum’s cafe Verdant. Guests are also invited to make their own risograph posters and zines and to craft screen printed tote bags and shirts. A concert for the whole family will kick off at 7 p.m. with performances by the Linda Lindas, Seth Bogart & The Punkettes and Brontez Purnell, as well as a reunion by Emily’s Sassy Lime.

“In the Pocket Painting,” Jonas Fisch.

(Jonas Fisch / Saatchi Art )

Saatchi Art, an online gallery with two L.A.-based executives, is celebrating its 15th anniversary. CEO Sarah Meller and Director of Sales and Curation Erin Remington have built the platform into an online marketplace that helps launch careers including that of Jackie Amezquita, who started out with Saatchi and last year won the Audience Award at the Hammer’s Made in LA Biennial.

With curfew exemptions from L.A. City Council, performances resumed Thursday night at the Music Center but audiences were reluctant to return downtown. L.A. Opera said attendance at “Rigoletto” was 554, roughly 1,000 less than its projected attendance. Center Theatre Group said slightly more than 300 ticket holders showed up for “Hamlet” at the Mark Taper Forum, which seats 739 and had been at 85% capacity (about 630 seats filled) prior to the introduction of a curfew. A representative said the company heard no reports of problems getting in or out of downtown.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Times music writer August Brown interviewed Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine about Brian Wilson, who died last week at 82. “I just lost my best friend and mentor. It’s not a good feeling, but I’m going to carry on and continue to play our music and perform with the Pet Sounds Band,” Jardine told Brown.

Center Theatre Group temporarily canceled “Hamlet” at Mark Taper Forum; the Los Angeles Philharmonic scuttled the final night of its Seoul Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall; the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles’ Geffen Contemporary and the Broad museum are both closed through the weekend; and the Japanese American National Museum fenced off its pavilion to prevent further vandalism — these are just some of the immediate effects felt by downtown Los Angeles’ many arts organizations as ICE protests, an ongoing curfew and the arrival of thousands of federal troops upend daily life in the city’s civic core.

(On Thursday, Los Angeles city officials carved out a curfew exemption for ticket holders of indoor events and performing arts venues downtown including the Music Center, paving the way for evening performances of Center Theatre Group’s “Hamlet” and Los Angeles Opera’s “Rigoletto.”)

The Trump administration says it will deploy 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to L.A. to protect immigration agents and federal buildings at a reported cost of $134 million. On Tuesday, the state of California requested a temporary restraining order blocking the deployments, so it’s anyone’s guess as to how this will ultimately unfold.

The uncertainty, including how long Mayor Karen Bass’ 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will remain in effect, has added to the pall over downtown L.A., where businesses and restaurants are also struggling with security issues and the many unknowns of the swiftly evolving crisis.

On Wednesday, I reached out to many of downtown’s arts leaders, and they all issued statements in support of Los Angeles and all of its inhabitants.

“As Los Angeles’ largest theatre company, located in Downtown LA, we are heartbroken by the events unfolding around us and affecting so many in our beautiful and diverse city,” CTG said. “Our mission is to be a home for everyone who calls themselves an Angeleno.”

This is a sentiment that abounds throughout this proud city of immigrants, where many with friends or neighbors who are undocumented feel sorrow to see the violence and destruction.

As losses mount for the arts in downtown L.A., it is worth noting that if you add the cost of President Trump’s Saturday military parade in Washington, D.C. — estimated to be about $45 million — to the aforementioned price tag for sending troops to Southern California , the total is about $179 million. The National Endowment for the Arts, which Trump has proposed eliminating entirely, requested a $210.1 million budget for 2025, and millions in grants for arts groups have been clawed back this year under Elon Musk’s DOGE.

I’m arts and culture reporter Jessica Gelt, standing with my community in support of all its members. Here’s this week’s arts news.

Best bets: On our radar this week

Huntley Ritter, from left, Kirsten Dunst, Nathan West and Eliza Dushku in the 2000 movie “Bring It On.”

(Getty / Universal Studios)

Academy screenings
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents two very different films this weekend. On Friday, the North American premiere of a new 4K restoration of 1975 best picture winner, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” starring Jack Nicholson, screens with supervising film editor Richard Chew and editor Lynzee Klingman joining screenwriter Larry Karaszewski to discuss the film. Then, the academy’s Teen Movie Madness! series continues Saturday with a 25th anniversary screening of cheerleading cult fave “Bring It On” in 35mm, preceded by a conversation with actor and artist Brandi Williams, who played Lafred in the film.
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” 7:30 p.m. Friday; “Bring It On,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Academy Museum, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. academymuseum.org

Cinderella
Los Angeles Ballet closes out its 2024-25 season with this fairy tale classic featuring choreography by Edwaard Liang set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev. This reimagined version adds a modern sensibility, new twists, fantasy and humor to the story of a young woman, mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, who is transformed for a date with a prince by a fairy godmother.
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Dolby Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood. losangelesballet.org

Soprano Renée Fleming will headline the performance “Renée Fleming & Friends” on June 14.

(Andrew Eccles / Decca)

Renée Fleming & Friends
Broadway and opera come together as vocalists Tituss Burgess, Lindsay Mendez and Jessie Mueller join the legendary soprano for a one-night-only concert presented by L.A. Opera. When Fleming appeared in the musical “Light in the Piazza” at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in 2019, Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote that the singer “delivers the goods in the show’s climax … Sound and sense are at last joined, making the distinction between Broadway and opera irrelevant.” (The performance is still planned as originally scheduled. Please check with L.A. Opera for updates.)
7:30 p.m. Friday. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laopera.org

Poster for the movie “The Bull-Dogger” starring actor Bill Pickett,1925. Lithograph on paper.

(Autry Museum)

Black Cowboys: An American Story
Beyoncé earned accolades (including her first best album Grammy) for “Cowboy Carter,” bringing the iconography of the Black West to the mainstream. For those whose appetites have been whetted for more, this exhibition at the Autry Museum of the American West, conceived and organized by the Witte Museum in San Antonio, delivers a deep dive into that underreported slice of history. Tales of how Black men and women deployed their equestrian skills to great effect as they tamed and trained horses, tended livestock and embarked on cattle drives across the country come to life through historical and contemporary objects, photographs and personal recollections. The Autry’s presentation also highlights Hollywood’s influence on the Black cowboy image with movie memorabilia, including vintage film posters and the costumes used in the 2021 Netflix film “The Harder They Fall.”
Saturday through Jan. 4. Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. theautry.org

Culture news

Denzel Washington, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal attend the “Othello” Broadway production media day at Tavern on the Green on Feb. 10 in New York.

(C.J. Rivera / Invision / Associated Press)

“Broadway finally got its groove back. The 2024-25 season was the highest-grossing season on record and the second-highest in terms of attendance,” Times theater critic Charles McNulty writes in a column about last Sunday’s Tony Awards. That resurgence could be attributed to the many high-powered film and television stars on New York stages including George Clooney, Kieran Culkin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Denzel Washington, Bob Odenkirk and Sarah Snook — but the real reason audiences flocked to live theater this season, McNulty concludes, was “unadulterated theatrical fearlessness.”

The Smithsonian Institution’s standoff with President Trump took a new turn Monday evening when the Smithsonian issued a statement that could be read as a rejection of Trump’s late-May firing of National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet. The Smithsonian said the organization’s secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch, “has the support of the Board of Regents in his authority and management of the Smithsonian,” after a lengthy meeting by the board. This seems to imply that, for now, Sajet isn’t going anywhere.

An installation view of “The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

(Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

On Wednesday, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., announced a major gift of modern and contemporary drawings from longtime museum supporters Lenore and Bernard Greenberg. The collection of more than 60 works of art includes pieces by Vija Celmins, Willem de Kooning, Alberto Giacometti, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Franz Kline, Brice Marden, Bruce Nauman, Susan Rothenberg, Ed Ruscha, Shahzia Sikander and Cy Twombly.

“Adrien Brody’s art is horrendous. Why are some people pretending it isn’t?” senior ARTnews editor Alex Greenberger argues in a pointed, sometimes hilarious takedown of the Oscar-winning star’s paintings. “Adrien Brody has received due attention for his acting abilities: his Oscar-winning performance in last year’s film The Brutalist is the kind of work most actors would be lucky to pull off once in their lifetime. Last week, however, he started receiving undue attention for the hideous art he debuted in New York at Eden Gallery, which — based on its press coverage, anyway — is one of the most talked-about exhibitions of the summer,” the column begins. If you need a chuckle, it’s worth reading in its entirety.

The SoCal scene

Patrick Ball, from left, Ramiz Monsef and Gina Torres in “Hamlet” at the Mark Taper Forum.

(Jeff Lorch)

Unlike his assessment of Broadway’s season, Charles McNulty wasn’t so positive about a recent L.A. theater offering. He did not enjoy director Robert O’Hara’s world-premiere adaptation of “Hamlet,” starring Patrick Ball from MAX’s hit show “The Pitt.” The new material places the story in a noir landscape in modern-day L.A. and features a second-act twist when a detective comes to investigate the play’s bloodbath a la “CSI.” “O’Hara’s audacious antics are stimulating at first, but there’s not enough dramatic interest to sustain such a grueling journey,” McNulty writes.

A massive Barbara Kruger mural titled “Questions” on the side of MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary began appearing in news broadcasts and social media posts across the country as ICE protests unfolded over the weekend. This proved prophetic, since the 1990 artwork is composed of a series of pointed questions that interrogate the very nature of power and control. Read all about it here.

Pasadena Playhouse has announced its 2025-26 season, its first since buying back its historic 1925 building. Theater lovers can gear up for the shiny new Tony Award-winning best revival of a play, “Eureka Day,” as well as Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus,” a world-premiere adaptation of “Brigadoon” and the novel two-person hip-hop musical, “Mexodus.”

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

There is nothing more delectable — or truer to the diverse fabric of Los Angeles — than a good street taco. The Food team has pulled together a delicious list of 19 street vendors to support from the 101 Best Tacos guide.

BBC/South Pacific Pictures & All3Media International / Getty Images

Your next Traitors fix

BBC/South Pacific Pictures & All3Media International

Yungblud’s shackles are off

28 Years Later hits cinemas

Getty Images

Objects of affection

Flip out over Benson Boone’s new album

Getty Images

Other highlights this week

This will strike the literal-minded as illogical, but I think Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores, a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, had a righteous point when he declared at a news conference with Southern California mayors that immigrants being rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in communities like his “are Americans, whether they have a document or they don’t.”

“The president keeps talking about a foreign invasion,” Flores told me Thursday. “He keeps trying to paint us as the other. I say, ‘No, you are dealing with Americans.’”

California’s estimated 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who have lived among us for years, for decades, who work and pay taxes here, who have sent their American-born children to schools here, have all the responsibilities of citizens minus many of the rights. Yes, technically, they have broken the law. (For that matter, so has President Trump, a felon, and he continues to violate the Constitution day after day, as his mounting court losses attest.)

But our region’s undocumented Mexican and Central American immigrants are inextricably embedded in our lives. They care for our children, build our homes, dig our ditches, trim our trees, clean our homes, hotels and businesses, wash our dishes, pick our crops, sew our clothes. Lots own small businesses, are paying mortgages, attend universities, rise in their professions. In 2013, I wrote about Sergio Garcia, the first undocumented immigrant admitted to the California Bar. Since then, he has become a U.S. citizen and owns a personal injury law firm.

These Californians are far less likely to break the law than native-born Americans, and they do not deserve the reign of terror being inflicted on them by the Trump administration, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has pointlessly but theatrically called in the Marines.

“So we started off by hearing the administration wanted to go after violent felons gang members, drug dealers,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who organized the mayors’ news conference last week, “but when you raid Home Depot and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you’re not trying to keep anyone safe. You’re trying to cause fear and panic.”

And please, let’s not forget that when Congress came together and hammered out a bipartisan immigration reform bill under President Biden, Trump demanded Republicans kill it because he did not want a rational policy, he wanted to be able to keep hammering Democrats on the issue.

But it seems there is more going on here than rounding up undocumented immigrants and terrorizing their families. We seem to have entered the “punish California” phase of Trump 2.0.

“Trump has a hyperfocus on California, on how to hurt the economy and cause chaos, and he is really doubling down on that campaign,” Flores told me. He has a point.

“We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialist and the burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor placed on this country,” Noem told reporters Thursday at a news conference in the Westwood federal building, during which California Sen. Alex Padilla was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed face down for daring to ask her a question. “We are not going away.”

So now we’re talking about regime change? (As former Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe put it on Bluesky, the use of military force aimed at displacing democratically elected leaders “is the very definition of a coup.”)

Noem’s noxious mix of willful ignorance and inflammatory rhetoric is almost too ludicrous to mock. It goes hand in hand with Trump’s silly declaration that our city has been set aflame by rioters, that without the military patrolling our streets, Los Angeles “would be a crime scene like we haven’t seen in years,” and that “paid insurrectionists” have fueled the anti-ICE protests.

What we are seeing play out in the news and in our neighborhoods is the willful infliction of fear, trauma and intimidation designed to spark a violent response, and the warping of reality to soften the ground for further Trump administration incursions into blue states, America’s bulwark against his autocratic aspirations.

For weeks, Trump has been scheming to deprive California — probably illegally — of federal funding for public schools and universities, citing resistance to his executive orders on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, on immigration, on environmental regulations, etc.

And yet, because he is perhaps the world’s most ignorant head of state, he seems to have suddenly realized that crippling the California economy might be bad politics for him. On Thursday, he suggested in his own jumbled way that perhaps deporting thousands of the state’s farm and hospitality workers might cause pain to his friends, their employers. (Central Valley growers and agribusiness PACs, for example, overwhelmingly supported Trump in 2024.)

“Our farmers are being hurt badly by, you know, they have very good workers. They’ve worked for them for 20 years,” Trump said. “They’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be, you know, great. And we’re going to have to do something about that.”

Like a lot of Californians, I feel helpless in the face of this assault on immigrants.

I thought about a Guatemalan, a father of three young American-born children, who has a thriving business hauling junk. I met him a couple of years ago at my local Home Depot, and have hired him a few times to haul away household detritus. Once, after I couldn’t get the city to help, he hauled off a small dune’s worth of sand at the end of my street that had become the local dogs’ pee pad.

I called him this week — I have more stuff that I need to get rid of, and I was pretty sure he could use the work. Early Friday morning, he arrived on time with two workers. He said hadn’t been able to work in two weeks but was hopeful he’d be able to return to Home Depot soon.

“How are your kids doing?” I asked.

“They worry,” he said. “They ask, ‘What will we do if you’re deported?’”

He tells them not to fret, that things will soon be back to normal. After he drove off, he texted: “Thank you so much for helping me today. God bless you.”

No, God bless him. For working hard. For being a good dad. And for still believing, against the odds, in the American dream.

@rabcarian.bsky.social @rabcarian

Welcome to Screen Gab the newsletter for everyone who needs a break from doomscrolling.

If your brain needs a fantasy adventure to escape the realities of life, perhaps the escapades of a time-traveling librarian will suit your needs. “The Librarians,” which started as a trio of TV movies that evolved into a four-season TV series, has built out its universe with the recent spinoff “The Librarians: The Next Chapter.” Showrunner Dean Devlin stopped by Guest Spot to discuss how the new show connects to the wider franchise.

And if you’re into crime dramas as a form of escapist TV, this week’s streaming recommendations include a new British detective drama that features a mismatched crime-solving duo and the prequel series in “Dexter’s” expanding serial killer universe.

ICYMI

Must-read stories you might have missed

James Arness, Amanda Blake, Ken Curtis and Milburn Stone in “Gunsmoke.”

(CBS)

50 years after Marshal Matt Dillon’s last draw, ‘Gunsmoke’ is a streaming hit: The adult western drama with James Arness is finding loyal fans and new audiences on Peacock, Paramount+ and Pluto TV.

Commentary: Why on earth is Dr. Phil involved in immigration raids? Another made-for-TV event from a reality star president: Of all the alarming things that have happened in L.A., Dr. Phil hanging out with Trump’s top border policy advisor during immigration raids was the weirdest.

In ‘Murderbot,’ an anxious scientist and an autonomous robot develop a workplace-trauma bond: Alexander Skarsgård and Noma Dumezweni, co-stars of Apple TV+’s ‘Murderbot,’ discuss Episode 6 of the sci-fi series and the autism-coded robot at the center of the show.

‘Materialists’ is a smart and funny all-star love triangle with its own commitment issues: In Celine Song’s rom-com follow-up to her Oscar-nominated ‘Past Lives,’ Pedro Pascal is rich, Chris Evans is poor and Dakota Johnson is a matchmaking mercenary.

Turn on

Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Timothy Spall as John Chapel and Gwyneth Keyworthh as Janie Mallowan in “Death Valley.”

(Simon Ridgway / BBC)

“Death Valley” (BritBox)

Set not in our own dry desert but the verdant valleys of Wales, this adorable and comical mystery series from the great Timothy Spall, OBE — longtime favorite of director Mike Leigh and familiar to many as Peter Pettigrew in five “Harry Potter” movies — stars as John Chapel, a former TV police detective living in small-town isolation after the death of his Welsh wife. Along comes Gwyneth Keyworth as the world’s sweetest (actual) police detective Janie Mallowan, Chapel’s biggest fan who knocks on his door in the middle of an investigation. After some back-and-forth, push and pull, they become one of those pro-am teams that figure in so many detective shows — like “Castle,” without the sex — and never better done than here. Chapel takes to the job in grand thespian style, playing characters, improvising and analyzing motives through character analysis. (He’s not always right.) Janie is alternately stressed and impressed. Backdrops for the cases include a local theater production, a walking group, a wedding and a school reunion — cozy stuff. — Robert Lloyd

Patrick Gibson as Dexter Morgan in “Dexter: Original Sin.”

(Patrick Wymore / Paramount+ with Showtime)

“Dexter: Original Sin” (Paramount+ with Showtime)

If superheroes can have origin stories, why not serial killers carrying on their secret mission of justice? That’s the concept of Showtime’s “Dexter: Original Sin,” which travels back to 1991 to show how the crafty Dexter Morgan, the forensics specialist who moonlighted as a vigilante, began his killing ways while working as an intern at the Miami Metro Police Department. The series premiered last year as a prequel spinoff of “Dexter,” the popular drama/dark comedy that ran for eight seasons and later continued its story in the sequel series “Dexter: New Blood.” Patrick Gibson uncannily captures the mannerisms, facial expressions and inflections of “Dexter” star Michael C. Hall, who provides the trademark narration that was one of the signatures of the original series. The show is the perfect appetizer for the July 11 premiere of “Dexter: Resurrection,” which brings the titular antihero back to life despite being “shot to death” by his son Harrison (Jack Alcott) in the finale of “Dexter: New Blood.” — Greg Braxton

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Jessica Green, Callum McGowan, front center, Olivia Morris and Bluey Robinson in a scene from “The Librarians: The Next Chapter.”

(Aleksandar Letic / TNT)

“The Librarians” is back after more than seven years, but things are a little different from when we last visited this fantasy land, which spanned three films (starring Noah Wyle) and a four-season TV series. In its latest iteration, “The Librarians: The Next Chapter,” we’re introduced to a new librarian named Vikram Chamberlain (Callum McGowan), who time-traveled from 1847 and now finds himself stuck in the present. He returns to his castle in Belgrade, Serbia only to find that it’s now a museum — but more notably, his arrival releases magic across the continent, leading to some strange occurrences. He has to clean up the mess, with some help in the form of guardian Charlie (Jessica Green), scientist Lysa (Olivia Morris) — who inherited the castle — and historian Connor (Bluey Robinson). For fans of the original series, Christian Kane makes a guest appearance as librarian Jacob Stone. Also returning is showrunner and executive producer Dean Devlin, who is carrying the torch on the series. He stopped by Screen Gab to talk about the new season, which currently airs on TNT and is also available for streaming on TNT’s website and app, TNTdrama.com. — Maira Garcia

“The Librarians” has amassed a legion of loyal fans over the years, first with the films and then with the series. What made you decide to return to it and how did you approach developing “The Next Chapter” with a new cast?

Honestly, I never wanted to stop telling stories in the world of the magical Library! When an opportunity came up to continue the franchise, I jumped at it. I didn’t want to reboot the story, because in my mind (and the fans) the original team of Librarians are still out there doing missions. I wanted to focus on a different story that takes place in parallel. When the idea of a Librarian from the past appearing today, it felt like just the right “fish out of water” story we needed to kick off a new series.

The series features this push and pull of logic and magic, history and fantasy. How do you juggle history with the supernatural elements of the show?

It’s really important to us that viewers can Google things we talk about in our show. While we may not follow exactly the legends in the zeitgeist, we wanted there to be enough of a connection to deepen the enjoyment of our adventures. So history and mythology are at the heart of our show. Sometimes we’ll give an alternate perspective or backstory, but there is always a nugget [of] connection to the stories we want to tell.

Throughout your career, you’ve worked on a number of sci-fi and fantasy films and series like “Stargate,” “Independence Day” and “The Ark.” What is it about these genres that appeals to you, and why do you think audiences gravitate toward them?

Often “escapist” entertainment is looked down upon as a lesser art form. But I find that audiences, especially after dealing with things like a pandemic, economic and personal hardships, [or] political divisions, have a real NEED to escape into a world of optimism and wonder and adventure. I’m no exception.

What have you watched recently that you’re recommending to everyone you know?

It’s not super recent, but I’ve loved watching “Only Murders in the Building” [Hulu], “Ted Lasso” [AppleTV+], “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” “Star Trek: Picard” (especially season 3) [both on Paramount+] and the new “Doctor Who” [Disney+].

What’s your go-to comfort watch, the film or TV show you return to again and again?

If “Tombstone” or “Enter the Dragon” is playing on late-night TV, then I’m not getting any sleep. And of course, the 10th and 11th Doctors on “Doctor Who” are a constant fallback watch for me.