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Whoopi Goldberg's 'View' co-hosts are mum, but this Holocaust survivor wants to talk

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-02-02/whoopi-goldberg-the-view-suspended-holocaust-survivor

Social media is rallying to get an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor on “The View” after co-host Whoopi Goldberg was suspended from the show for her remarks on the genocide. After Goldberg said on Monday’s episode of “The View” that the Holocaust was “not about race,” Lucy Lipiner — a Jewish author whose family fled Poland at the beginning of World War II — offered via Twitter to engage in a “meaningful conversation” with Goldberg on the daytime talk series. On Tuesday, ABC News suspended Goldberg for two weeks and urged her “to take time to reflect and learn about the impact of her comments” after she publicly apologized for them. During Wednesday’s installment of “The View,” Goldberg’s co-panelists did not discuss the situation beyond confirming that the comedian will return to the show in a couple of weeks. Company Town ABC News is suspending “The View” moderator Whoopi Goldberg over erroneous remarks she made on the program about the Holocaust. Feb. 1, 2022 “Hi @WhoopiGoldberg,” Lipiner tweeted Monday. “My family was killed for not being white. Hitler & Nazis NEEDED to exterminate Jews because we weren’t ‘white enough’ for them. I’m happy to meet and educate you about what really happened in the Holocaust.” Less than an hour later, Lipiner addressed a second tweet to “The View”: “I am a Holocaust survivor in NYC,” she wrote. “I might be 88-years-old but I have the energy to come on your show and talk to @WhoopiGoldberg and all the girls about the Holocaust. I think we can have a meaningful conversation together and heal wounds. DM me! Love, Lucy.” Although Lipiner’s offer landed before Goldberg’s suspension, her words have gone viral with support from many who would still like to hear her perspective on “The View.” Collectively, her tweets have amassed more than 37,000 likes. Entertainment & Arts The Oscar-winning actor said she was sorry for saying the Nazis’ genocidal policies were ‘not about race’ but about ‘man’s inhumanity to ... man.’ Feb. 1, 2022 “@LucyLipiner As the daughter of a holocaust survivor… my mom who is deceased but was born in Berlin and survived Auschwitz I THANK you for speaking out and offering your help,” tweeted @MargeStein1 on Wednesday. “If you are able mention reparations by the Germans. Most Americans know nothing about this.” “Let’s use the controversy over @WhoopiGoldberg comments to educate people about the Holocaust,” tweeted @mabramson. “@abc @TheView — Please have @LucyLipiner & other survivors on the show.” Shortly after she reached out to “The View,” Lipiner tweeted a photo of her Jewish preschool class: “Everyone but me (and my sister) in this photo died in Auschwitz,” she wrote. A representative for “The View” did not immediately respond Wednesday to an inquiry from The Times. On Monday, Goldberg extended her “sincerest apologies” and professed her loyalty to “the Jewish people around the world.” “On today’s show, I said the Holocaust ‘is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man,’” Goldberg said in a statement. World & Nation Fewer than 2,000 Auschwitz survivors are still alive. One is returning to Poland from Southern California for the fourth time. Jan. 26, 2020 “I should have said it is about both. As Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League shared, ‘The Holocaust was about the [Nazis’] systematic annihilation of the Jewish people — who they deemed to be an inferior race.’ I stand corrected.” Goldberg’s Holocaust remarks came during a “View” discussion about a Tennessee school board’s ban of “Maus,” a graphic novel about Nazi death camps during World War II. The board cited nudity and profanity as justification for banning the book, which has won several literary awards, including a Pulitzer Prize. “The ban of ‘Maus’ by Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman is disgraceful + antisemitic,” Lipiner tweeted last week. “I survived the Holocaust when I was 6 years old. [Eighth] grade students can and need to learn about Holocaust. That’s how such EVIL will never happen again to any people, any nation!” Books Sales of Art Spiegelman’s ‘Maus,’ the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel on the Holocaust, have risen after a Tennessee school board banned it this month. Jan. 31, 2022 On Wednesday, “Maus” author Art Spiegelman, whose two editions of “Maus” are now on Amazon’s bestsellers list, opposed Goldberg’s suspension. “I believe she should have been left on TV, especially after she apologized,” Spiegelman said in an interview with “Democracy Now!” “In this age, we’re all addled — including Whoopi Goldberg — and I think she had conflicting images of where we’re at right now, in the sense that somehow us Jews have become honorary white in this moment. And that allowed her to get a bit confused about where the issues really are.” Times staff writer Stephen Battaglio contributed to this report.

On a quiet weekend in theaters, 'Spider-Man' is No. 1 again

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-01-30/on-a-quiet-weekend-in-theaters-spider-man-is-no-1-again

On a chillingly quiet weekend at movie theaters, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” again topped the box office in its seventh week of release. January is traditionally a slow month for moviegoing and that’s been especially true this year, in part because the Omicron variant of the coronavirus prompted some postponements. But even before the surge or a blizzard that forced some theaters to close Saturday in the Northeast, the weekend was set to be especially muted. Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: No Way Home” grossed $11 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, bringing its domestic total to $735.9 million. The Marvel hit has accounted for a huge percentage of the month’s ticket sales. “No Way Home,” which has topped the box office for six of the past seven weekends, has continued to hold well since opening in December. This weekend, it dropped only 20% from the week prior. In the record books, “No Way Home” is approaching the third-highest-grossing film in North America, “Avatar” ($760 million). It also added $21.1 million overseas to pass $1 billion internationally. But aside from Paramount Pictures’ “Scream,” which stayed in second place with $7.4 million in its third weekend, January has been a dead zone. No new releases opened widely over the weekend. Last week, one of the only films to try to open nationwide was “The King’s Daughter,” a woebegone fairy tale starring Pierce Brosnan that was made in 2014. While the ups and downs of the pandemic have meant a fluctuating recovery for movie theaters, the dearth of January releases comes on the heels of Hollywood’s biggest pandemic success in “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” At the box office, famine has followed feast. “Lack of movies is a critical issue for movie theaters,” said Patrick Corcoran, spokesman for the National Assn. of Theater Owners. “Contrary to some industry thinking, we cannot live on blockbusters alone. A consistent flow of exclusive movies to the movie theater is necessary to serve the range of audiences that go to the movies.” “We cannot get back to normal and show audiences that movie theaters are safe if the studios don’t give us a normal flow of films,” added Corcoran. For exhibitors, it’s a potentially worrying sign of what may come. Though there have always been lulls at the box office, such quiet periods could become more regular. Aside from the myriad films that go straight to streaming on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+, industry consolidation — and less major studio product — has been a concern for theater owners since Walt Disney Co. acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019. Whether the theatrical business can weather the changes wrought by streaming is one question. But another, and potentially more pressing one is whether theaters will always have enough movies to subsist in between the biggest hits. Next week, Lionsgate’s “Moonfall” and Paramount Pictures’ “Jackass Forever” will open and are expected to finally topple “Spider-Man: No Way Home” from the top spot. A large number of blockbusters, including “The Batman,” “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” await in 2022. But some alarmingly thin periods may too. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” $11 million. 2. “Scream,” $7.4 million. 3. “Sing 2,” $4.8 million. 4. “Redeeming Love,” $1.9 million. 5. “The King’s Man,” $1.8 million. 6. “The 355,” $1.4 million. 7. “American Underdog,” $1.2 million. 8. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” $770,000. 9. “Licorice Pizza,” $691,000. 10. “West Side Story,” $614,000.

'Nanny' and 'The Exiles' win top prizes at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-01-28/sundance-film-festival-nanny-exile-awards

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival announced its award winners Friday, with Nikyatu Jusu’s “Nanny” winning the U.S. dramatic competition grand jury prize and Ben Klein and Violet Columbus’ “The Exiles” winning the U.S. documentary grand jury prize. The audience awards went to Cooper Raiff’s “Cha Cha Real Smooth” for the U.S. dramatic competition and Daniel Roher’s “Navalny” for the U.S. documentary competition. “The 2022 Sundance Film Festival once again met our audience wherever they happened to be,” said festival director Tabitha Jackson in a statement. “Whether you watched from home or one of our seven satellite screens, this year’s Festival expressed a powerful convergence; we were present, together, as a community connected through the work. And it is work that has already changed those who experienced it.” Among the jury prizes, 53% of the feature films were directed by one or more women, while 42% were directed by one or more person of color. In the world cinema dramatic competition, the grand jury prize went to Alejandro Loayza Grisi’s “Utama,” with the world cinema documentary grand jury prize going to Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes.” The audience awards went to Ali Haapasalo’s “Girl Picture” for world cinema dramatic and Alex Pritz’s “The Territory” for world cinema documentary. “Navalny” also won the festival favorite award. Other prizes in the U.S. dramatic competition went to Jamie Dack for directing “Palm Trees and Power Lines.” The Waldo Salt screenwriting award went to K.D. Dávila for “Emergency.” A special jury award for uncompromising artistic vision went to Bradley Rust Gray for “blood.” A special jury award for ensemble cast went to John Boyega, Nicole Beharie, Selenis Leyva, Connie Britton, Olivia Washington, London Covington and Michael K. Williams for “892.” In the U.S. documentary competition, the directing prize went to Reid Davenport for “I Didn’t See You There.” The Jonathan Oppenheim editing awards went to Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput for “Fire of Love.” A special jury award for impact for change went to “Aftershock.” A special jury award for creative vision went to “Descendant.” The Next innovator award went to Chase Joynt for “Framing Agnes.”

Grace Kelly's granddaughter appears on horseback for Chanel

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-01-25/grace-kellys-granddaughter-appears-on-horseback-for-chanel

Huge spinning wheels, “floating” wooden blocks and suspended geometric shapes hovered over a surreal mini golf course Tuesday at Chanel’s remarkable couture show. Even Pharrell Williams, who is no stranger to elaborate sets, had to take a moment to take stock, before posing beside a white 3-meter (1 yard) tire. This sublime, avant-garde decor was the work of Xavier Veilhan and marked the first time in its history that Chanel has entrusted a contemporary artist for staging. The equestrian photos handed out to guests as they filtered in were a hint of what was to come. But no one quite expected Charlotte Casiraghi, the daughter of Caroline of Monaco and the granddaughter of Princess Grace Kelly, to appear out of nowhere atop an actual racing horse. Here are some highlights of the second day of spring-summer 2022 couture shows in Paris. CHANEL SEES PARED-DOWN SPRING AESTHETIC The beautiful beast and its VIP rider, in a black Chanel tweed sequined jacket of course, began the show to a symphony of gasps and clopping hooves around the Grand Palais Ephemere’s auditorium as celebrity guests snapped pictures. The horse seemed to enjoy its 15 minutes of fame, trotting by with ease, snaking in and out of the 1920s and ‘30s constructivist installations and by sand and imitation grass, before breaking out into a canter around the set. Virginie Viard, Chanel’s designer, said the art backdrop was not just decor, but the collection’s creative starting block. “These geometric shapes made me want contrasts, a great lightness and a lot of freshness: ethereal dresses that float as if suspended,” she said. Thus Chanel produced a relatively pared-down aesthetic for spring with matching tweeds, minimalist touches, clean curved peplums and lots of white. A split leg on heavy three-quarter-length skirts was this season’s big theme, creating a silhouette with lots of swag as the models walked. A pink tweed jacket with white stripes possessed beautiful loose proportions, which perfectly captured the spirit of pared-down femininity. It was the best piece in the show. Yet the 47-look collection at times seemed to fall victim to its own restraint, seeming to lack vibrancy. Entertainment & Arts Diana Ross, Bella Hadid, Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé are among those mourning the loss of fashion designer Manfred Thierry Mugler, who died Sunday. Jan. 24, 2022 ALEXIS MABILLE’S FLOWERS AND INSECTS A single butterfly earring. That was the most delicate of leitmotifs for the lauded French designer, who took the shapes and textures of butterfly wings and flower petals to produce an organic-infused display. Silhouettes were truncated or unfurled at the top and bottom in swooshes of silk that resembled an opening flower. Or was it a butterfly emerging from the cocoon? Either way, an organic feel pervaded the 26 couture designs. A white silk train billowed majestically out from the bottom of a sheer bustier corset that sported embroidered lines resembling veins. Elsewhere, pleated silk hung beautifully down from a pink halter neck gown, evoking the delicate crinkling in wings. A black lace hood hung over one model’s head as if she were in mourning. Image The Nigerian New Yorker who calls L.A. home shares how heritage and home inform her approach to fashion. Dec. 15, 2021 ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER’S GLAM The French couturier known for his unapologetic glamour was at it again this season, producing a collection that oozed with shimmer, sequins, feather flourishes and even a flash of leopard. The mood felt very late-’80s. A white broad-shouldered tuxedo above an exposed chest led to a dazzling silver gown that covered the model in sequins from head to foot. This season, Alexandre Vauthier also brought out the sensuality. A loose Chinese white satin gown’s fabric rippled across the model’s body as if blown by the breeze. The 50-year-old designer has expressed his desire to create fashions that celebrate life and going out — especially amid the constraints of persistent lockdowns. At this show, fashions were disco-ready. Entertainment & Arts Kerry Washington, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis are just a few of the Hollywood figures mourning the loss of style titan André Leon Talley. Jan. 19, 2022 VAN DER KEMP IS SUSTAINABLE It’s no secret that Ronald van der Kemp, the self-proclaimed “first sustainable couture label,” wants to spearhead a revolution. The Dutch designer aims to create couture out of unwanted materials to shake up fashion’s wasteful ecosystem. It’s a noble cause and — judging by the fact his wares are being worn by the likes of Kate Moss, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry — a successful one. On Tuesday, Van der Kemp proved again that you don’t have to be cruel to be beautiful in a series of vibrant couture looks made from upcycled materials, although you might be forgiven for not guessing they were. A minidress in Chinese white was beautifully constructed with heaped bands of fabric, long train and impenetrable bodice. Elsewhere, peaked curved shoulders on a silken 1940s elderberry cut a timeless style with a chic, sheer pencil skirt.

With $50,000 reward from L.A., mother renews pleas to find son's killer after six years

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-20/with-new-50-000-reward-mother-renews-her-pleas-to-find-sons-killer

Ever since her son was shot and killed in their front yard in 2016, Barbara Pritchett-Hughes doesn’t spend much time at her home in Watts. “Our home is not a home anymore,” said Pritchett-Hughes, who spends much of her time visiting with her daughter in San Bernardino County. DeAndre Hughes, 30, was shot while standing outside their home on the evening of July 2016. A suspect was charged in the case in 2018 but the charges were later dropped and the case remains unsolved. But Pritchett-Hughes still holds out hope. On Thursday, the city of Los Angeles announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person responsible for Hughes’ death. A spokesperson for Councilman Joe Buscaino’s office, who represents the district, said the Los Angeles Police Department requested a reward offering last November. “I know somebody knows something,” Pritchett-Hughes said, recounting how her son worked at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for nine years as an environmental services technician. After he died, she learned her son, who she described as caring and loving, often gave money, food and clothes to a homeless person who lived at the nearby Magic Johnson Park. She and her family are hoping the reward will lead to a break in the case after all these years. “Please, give us justice,” said Mardel Evans, Hughes’ aunt. It wasn’t the family’s first loss. Pritchett-Hughes’ youngest son, Dovon Harris, was shot and killed in June 2007. The 15-year-old Centennial High School student was shot while getting off a bus on his way home from an after-school event. Pritchett-Hughes said she never thought she would have to experience such pain again. She often visits her sons’ graves at Inglewood Cemetery. “I can talk to them, but they can’t talk back,” she said Thursday outside the LAPD’s community station on West 108th Street. “I can celebrate their birthdays, but they can’t celebrate them.” Pritchett-Hughes is a member of the group Justice For Murdered Children, which offers support to parents whose loved ones were killed by gun violence. Several members have rallied to her side. Emma Rivas, whose 25-year-old son, Christopher Beasley, was shot and killed at their Torrance home in 2016, said, “Our children were healthy and thriving …and [someone] took them away.” She added, “We’re coming for you.” LaWanda Hawkins, whose 19-year-old son, Reginald Reese, was shot and killed in San Pedro in 1995, said theirs is a group no mother wants to be part of. “Why is it allowed that Black and brown people are killed every day in these communities and everybody acts like it’s so normal?” Hawkins asked. “In a way, the blame lays with everyone. We all play a role in it.” The grief is all-consuming for these mothers. Pritchett-Hughes said all she can do is hope that someone will step forward with information about her son’s killer and help bring some closure for her family. Her daughter, Dwaina Hughes, said her mother’s perseverance is an example of her extraordinary strength. “My mom is my superhero,” Hughes said. “That’s honestly where I get my strength. I wonder, if she can endure all of that, losing her two sons, then it’s going to be possible for me. I know I can and will be all right.” Anyone with information is encouraged to call South Bureau Homicide Det. Roger Fontes at (323) 786-5100 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

Britney Spears' case drives California bid to limit conservatorships

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-01-19/spears-case-drives-california-bid-to-limit-conservatorships

Disability rights activists and advocates for Britney Spears backed a California proposal Wednesday to provide more protections for those under court-ordered conservatorships, while promoting less-restrictive alternatives. Their move came as the volatile Spears case again boiled over in a Los Angeles County courtroom. The hearing to settle lingering issues in the aftermath of Spears’ conservatorship, which was terminated in November, quickly descended into a series of angry accusations between attorneys for Spears and her father, and the case appears headed for a long trial to determine the truth of allegations of misconduct against him. The case is Exhibit No. 1 for groups including Disability Voices United, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and Free Britney L.A. who say that what are known as probate conservatorships are overused and misused in California. They most often involve people with developmental or intellectual disabilities or those with age-related issues like dementia or Alzheimer’s. But the advocacy groups contend that conservatees like Spears can become trapped in a system that removes their civil rights and the ability to advocate for themselves. The Professional Fiduciary Association of California, which represents many of those appointed as conservators, did not immediately comment but said answers to many questions about the process can be found at californiaconservatorshipfacts.com “Conservatorships should be rare, and the last resort,” said Judy Mark, president of Disability Voices United, a Southern California advocacy group. “The default should be that people with disabilities retain their rights and get support when they need it.” The groups backed legislation by Democratic Assemblyman Brian Maienschein that will also make it easier to end conservatorships for people who want out. They are promoting instead what are known as “supported decision-making” agreements as a less restrictive alternative. They allow people with disabilities to choose someone to help them understand, make and communicate their choices, but allow the person to still make the decision. That option has already been adopted in Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., advocates said. California law says conservatorships should only be ordered if a judge rules they are the least restrictive alternative. But the advocates contend they are often imposed without examining other options. Maienschein’s bill would require that before granting a conservatorship, judges first document that all other alternatives including supported decision-making have been considered. It would write supported decision-making into California law and back that alternative with grant programs, training and technical assistance. The bill also would make it easier to end probate conservatorships by mandating a periodic review, including asking conservatees if they want to make the conservatorship less restrictive or end it entirely. Conservators would also be required to consult with the conservatees and make decisions that reflect the conservatee’s wishes or previously expressed preferences. Before his election to the Legislature, Maienschein was a law clerk for a San Diego Superior Court judge who oversaw conservatorships. “I saw firsthand the role that the court plays in establishing conservatorships, and the potential for abuse,” he said during an online news conference. “The system in California is in desperate need of reform.” He called Spears “arguably the world’s most famous conservatee,” but said his bill would aid the many others who don’t have “the benefit of worldwide fame to shine a light on her case.” Spears drew widespread attention to the issue, culminating in November when a Los Angeles judge ended the conservatorship that controlled the pop singer’s life and money for nearly 14 years. But the fallout continued at Wednesday’s hearing, when Spears’ attorney Mathew Rosengart objected to Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny approving the many outstanding attorneys’ fees in the case until the trial is held. Rosengart repeated allegations from a New York Times documentary that James Spears bugged his daughter’s phone and home, saying they were among many instances of “serious misconduct, potentially criminal misconduct, on the part of Mr. Spears.” James Spears’ attorney Alex Weingarten said the accusations, along with allegations of financial misdealing, are “all nonsense.” “Virtually everything that is alleged in those objections is either demonstrably false or out of context,” Weingarten said. Weingarten plans to file a motion for a mass unsealing of documents from throughout the conservatorship, saying “we need that truth to come out.” Rosengart said he would object to this too. Penny ordered the final transfer of Spears’ assets back to her from the court conservator, and ruled that the November order terminating the conservatorship be sealed. She told the attorneys to return to court in July, when she may decide to order the trial. Britney Spears did not take part in the hearing. “I believe that if AB 1663 had been in effect 13 years ago, the court would have been unable to conserve Britney Spears, and now Britney’s story lights the way for where changes in our laws need to be made,” said Mark, of Disability Voices United. Advocates said it is unclear how many people are under conservatorships in California because the data isn’t collected. They said Spears’ battle is an example of how conservatorships are too easily imposed and too difficult to end. She was a 26-year-old new mother who’d had several public mental health struggles during the height of her career in 2008, when her father sought the conservatorship, at first on a temporary basis. Spears was not present at the court hearing where her constitutional rights were assigned to her father, nor were less-restrictive measures attempted before putting her under a conservatorship, said Free Britney L.A. organizer Leanne Simmons. It ended only after Spears engaged in a multiyear struggle, and after she won the right to pick her own attorney. “While unique in many ways, it follows a very common pattern of exploitation within the probate court system here in California,” Simmons said.

L.A. County felony charges are first in fatal crash involving Tesla's Autopilot

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-18/felony-charges-are-first-in-fatal-crash-involving-teslas-autopilot

Los Angeles County prosecutors have filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter against the driver of a Tesla on Autopilot that ran a red light, slammed into another car and killed two people in 2019. The defendant appears to be the first person to be charged with a felony in the United States for a fatal crash involving a motorist who was using a partially automated driving system. Prosecutors filed the charges in October, but they came to light only last week. The driver, Kevin George Aziz Riad, 27, has pleaded not guilty. Riad, a limousine service driver, is free on bail while the case is pending. The misuse of Autopilot, which can control steering, speed and braking, has occurred on numerous occasions and is the subject of investigations by two federal agencies. The filing of charges in the California crash could serve notice to drivers who use systems such as Autopilot that they cannot rely on them to control vehicles. Business Recent moves by the top U.S. automotive safety watchdog could change the way Tesla markets its cars’ advanced driver-assist capabilities -- or force the company to recall the software altogether. Sept. 2, 2021 The criminal charges aren’t the first involving an automated driving system, but they are the first to involve a widely used driver technology. Authorities in Arizona filed a charge of negligent homicide in 2020 against a driver Uber had hired to take part in the testing of a fully autonomous vehicle on public roads. The Uber vehicle, an SUV with the human backup driver on board, struck and killed a pedestrian. By contrast, Autopilot and other driver-assist systems are widely used on roads across the world. An estimated 765,000 Tesla vehicles are equipped with them in the United States alone. In the Tesla crash, police said a Model S was moving at a high speed when it left a freeway and ran a red light in the Los Angeles suburb of Gardena and struck a Honda Civic at an intersection on Dec. 29, 2019. Two people who were in the Civic, Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves-Lopez died at the scene. Riad and a woman in the Tesla were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Criminal charging documents do not mention Autopilot. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sent investigators to the crash, confirmed last week that Autopilot was in use in the Tesla at the time of the crash. Riad’s defense attorney did not respond to requests for comment last week, and the L.A. County district attorney’s office declined to discuss the case. Riad’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23. The NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board have been reviewing the widespread misuse of Autopilot by drivers, whose overconfidence and inattention have been blamed for multiple crashes, including fatal ones. In one crash report, the NTSB referred to its misuse as “automation complacency.” The agency said that in a 2018 crash in Culver City in which a Tesla hit a firetruck, the design of the Autopilot system had “permitted the driver to disengage from the driving task.” No one was hurt in that crash. Last May, a California man was arrested after officers noticed his Tesla moving down a freeway with the man in the back seat and no one behind the steering wheel. Teslas that have had Autopilot in use also have hit a highway barrier or tractor-trailers that were crossing roads. NHTSA has sent investigation teams to 26 crashes involving Autopilot since 2016, involving at least 11 deaths. Messages have been left seeking comment from Tesla, which has disbanded its media relations department. Since the Autopilot crashes began, Tesla has updated the software to try to make it harder for drivers to abuse it. It’s also tried to improve Autopilot’s ability to detect emergency vehicles. Business Auto safety experts and driverless technology advocates hope someone will put an end to Tesla’s word games and rule-skirting. April 19, 2021 The company has said that Autopilot and a more sophisticated “Full Self-Driving” system cannot drive themselves and that drivers must pay attention and be ready to react at anytime. “Full Self-Driving” is being tested by hundreds of Tesla owners on public roads in the United States. Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who studies automated vehicles, said this is the first U.S. case to his knowledge in which serious criminal charges were filed in a fatal crash involving a partially automated driver-assist system. Tesla, he said, could be “criminally, civilly or morally culpable” if it is found to have put a dangerous technology on the road. Donald Slavik, a Colorado lawyer who has served as a consultant in automotive technology lawsuits, including many against Tesla, said he, too, is unaware of any previous felony charges being filed against a U.S. driver who was using partially automated driver technology during a fatal crash. The families of Lopez and Nieves-Lopez have sued Tesla and Riad in separate lawsuits. They have alleged negligence by Riad and have accused Tesla of selling defective vehicles that can accelerate suddenly and that lack an effective automatic emergency braking system. A joint trial is scheduled for mid-2023. Lopez’s family, in court documents, alleges that the car “suddenly and unintentionally accelerated to an excessive, unsafe and uncontrollable speed.” Nieves-Lopez’s family further asserts that Riad was an unsafe driver, with multiple moving infractions on his record, and couldn’t handle the high-performance Tesla. Separately, NHTSA is investigating a dozen crashes in which a Tesla on Autopilot ran into several parked emergency vehicles. In the crashes under investigation, at least 17 people were injured and one person was killed. Asked about the manslaughter charges against Riad, the agency issued a statement saying there is no vehicle on sale that can drive itself. And whether or not a car is using a partially automated system, the agency said, “every vehicle requires the human driver to be in control at all times.” NHTSA added that all state laws hold human drivers responsible for operation of their vehicles. Though automated systems can help drivers avoid crashes, the agency said, the technology must be used responsibly. Rafaela Vasquez, the driver in the Uber autonomous test vehicle, was charged in 2020 with negligent homicide after the SUV fatally struck a pedestrian in suburban Phoenix in 2018. Vasquez has pleaded not guilty. Arizona prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against Uber. Dazio reported from Los Angeles and Krisher from Detroit. AP news researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

‘Spider-Man’ stays at No. 1 in fourth weekend

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-01-09/spider-man-stays-at-no-1-in-fourth-weekend

The glamorous spies of “The 355” were no competition for the movie theater’s reigning webslinger. Spider-Man’s box office dominance continued in its fourth weekend in theaters, adding an additional $33 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. With $668.8 million in North American ticket sales to date, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is now the sixth highest-grossing release of all time domestically. Globally, with $1.5 billion and counting, it ranks in eighth place. The only major new film this weekend was Universal’s “The 355,” an original spy thriller starring Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger and Penelope Cruz, which debuted in third place with $4.8 million from 3,145 North American theaters. Directed by Simon Kinberg, reviews for the film about a global coalition of female spies have been less than stellar: it holds a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. Movies Bringing together Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz and Bingbing Fan as international spies, “The 355” is a low-energy entertainment. Jan. 6, 2022 But the audience scores have been more enthusiastic, especially from women, and about a third of the attendees this weekend were over 45 — a demographic that has not gone out to movie theaters much during the pandemic. With a holiday weekend coming up, Jim Orr, Universal’s head of domestic distribution, said, “We think we’ll have a nice runway.” “The 355” came in behind the animated “Sing 2,” also distributed by Universal, which grossed an estimated $12 million in its third weekend in theaters, bringing its global total to $190.8 million. With Omicron cases surging, Hollywood has entered 2022 cautiously. January’s biggest new release, the Spider-Man spinoff “Morbius,” was recently pushed to April. “There’s a bit of uncertainty in the marketplace because of the Omicron variant,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s senior media analyst. “Studios want to protect their crown jewels and give them the greatest shot at success in movie theaters. A delay like that shows they’re not giving up on the theaters. But studios are very aware of this marketplace and what the challenges might be.” Company Town Plus: Our top investigations of 2021 Dec. 28, 2021 And while January is now destined to be quiet at the box office, Dergarabedian said that Spider-Man has been a “beacon of hope” for the industry. “It shows that audiences want to go back to the movie theater,” he said. “We could end up having a really strong box office year, but only time will tell.” Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” $33 million 2. “Sing 2,” $12 million 3. “The 355,” $4.8 million 4. “The King’s Man,” $3.4 million 5. “American Underdog,” $2.4 million 6. “The Matrix Resurrections,” $1.9 million 7. “West Side Story,” $1.4 million 8. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” $1.1 million 9. “Licorice Pizza,” $1 million 10. “House of Gucci,” $632,348

Sudan talks will aim to salvage political transition, U.N. says

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-01-08/united-nations-sudan-political-transition

The United Nations said Saturday it would hold talks in Sudan aimed at salvaging a fragile democratic transition amid a grinding stalemate following an October coup and the prime minister’s resignation last week. Volker Perthes, the U.N. envoy for Sudan, said in a statement the U.N.-facilitated political process would seek a “sustainable path forward towards democracy and peace” in the country. It wasn’t immediately clear when discussions might begin. “It is time to end the violence and enter into a constructive process. This process will be inclusive,” he said. Perthes said key players in Sudan, including the military, rebel groups, political parties and protest movements will be invited to take part in the process, as well as civil society and women’s groups. There was no immediate comment from the military on the U.N. effort. The pro-democracy movement said it has yet to receive details of the U.N. initiative, adding that it would continue street demonstrations until “the establishment of a fully civilian government to lead the transition.” The position of the Sudanese Professionals Assn. and the Resistance Committees, however, would be crucial, given that both groups are the backbone of the anti-coup protests and have insisted on transfer of power to civilians. The Oct. 25 coup scuttled hopes of a peaceful transition to democracy in Sudan, more than two years after a popular uprising forced the military overthrow of longtime autocrat Omar Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019. Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok resigned from office last Sunday, citing a failure to reach a compromise between the generals and the country’s pro-democracy movement. He had been ousted in the coup only to be reinstated a month later following a deal with the military meant to calm tensions and anti-coup protests. But Hamdok resigned, plunging the country further into turmoil amid political deadlock and relentless street protests that have claimed the lives of at least 60 people since the coup. Perthes said repeated violence against protesters since the coup has deepened mistrust of the military among all political parties. He warned that the ongoing deadlock could push the country into further instability and “squander the important political, social and economic gains” since the uprising against Bashir. The protest movement insists that a fully civilian government lead the transition, a demand rejected by the generals who say power will be handed over only to an elected government. Elections are planned in July 2023, in line with a constitutional document governing the transition period.

Members of lead Rose Parade band from Alabama test positive for coronavirus

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-07/members-of-rose-parade-band-covid-19

Members of the 410-person Alabama high school marching band that led off this year’s Rose Parade with “Yankee Doodle Dandy” have tested positive for the coronavirus since returning home from California. The entire school has switched to virtual classes this week because of an outbreak. An email sent to band parents at Homewood High School and obtained by the Associated Press didn’t say how many students were infected. The district does not release coronavirus case numbers by class or organization, Merrick Wilson, a spokesperson for the Homewood school system in suburban Birmingham, said Friday. Wilson said the district sends reports about coronavirus cases to the Alabama Department of Public Health, but officials with both the state and county health departments said they were unaware of a problem at the school. Alabama has one of the nation’s highest rates of positive results on coronavirus tests, at nearly 44%; that doesn’t include people using at-home tests. The state has the nation’s third-highest COVID-19 death rate, at 16,580, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. The Homewood school system cited an unusually large number of cases at the high school in announcing a suspension of in-person classes Tuesday, the same day band parents were notified about an unspecified number of positive tests following the trip to Pasadena for the Jan. 1 parade. California The Rose Parade returned to Pasadena on New Year’s Day amid a dramatic surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant. Jan. 1, 2022 “We apologize for this late notice, but we have continued to receive additional reports of positive cases this afternoon and evening. We understand this is not ideal, but we believe eLearning at HHS this week will limit the possible exposure to anyone who may be a close contact to the positive individuals,” said a note from the superintendent, Justin Hefner, posted on the system’s website. Hefner’s public Twitter feed includes photos from the California trip that show band members and others in close proximity on a bus and elsewhere, and many not wearing face masks, which are recommended to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Health officials say social distancing and masks have become even more important because of the Omicron variant, which is more contagious than earlier versions of the virus. Candy Carlson, communications director for the Tournament of Roses, said the organization was saddened to hear about Homewood’s cases, though officials weren’t given any information indicating they resulted from the band’s trip to Pasadena. “The recent surge of COVID-19 as a result of the Omicron variant is concerning for all of us. However, we are confident that our strict COVID-19 related protocols enabled us to mitigate those impacts for our parade participants and patrons,” the statement said. It added that of more than 6,500 participants in this year’s parade, 91% were vaccinated, and the remainder were required to provide proof of a negative test within 72 hours of the event. The Homewood Patriot Band, billed as Alabama’s largest high school band and known for its tricorn hats, has made four previous appearances in the Rose Parade. World & Nation Tournament president shepherds bands as they gear up for world’s most-watched parade. Nov. 10, 2002 The parade returned this year after the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 forced the event’s first cancellation since World War II. While many looked forward to the parade as a respite from two painful pandemic years, surging case numbers driven by Omicron clouded the days leading up to it. Other New Year’s events were scaled back or canceled across the country. The 133rd Rose Parade drew a smaller than usual but enthusiastic crowd. Organizers said they felt safe presenting the outdoor event, which had numerous safety measures in place. California The Rose Parade returned after a rare cancellation last year. Crowds were smaller amid a surge in coronavirus cases, but they were enthusiastic. Jan. 1, 2022 The Tournament of Roses required the 6,000-plus parade participants, including people on floats, marching band members and equestrians, to provide proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of the event. Spectators ages 12 and up in ticketed areas, including grandstands, were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours. Ticket holders ages 18 and up had to provide photo identification, and all attendees ages 2 and up in those areas were required to wear a mask. But along the rest of the 5.5-mile route, where people were able to walk up and watch, vaccination and negative test results were not checked. The sharp climb in coronavirus cases continued in the days following the New Year’s holiday. On Friday, Los Angeles County reported 43,712 new cases, the highest single-day total of the pandemic. The previous record, 37,215, came Thursday. Times staff writer Gregory Yee contributed to this report.

Fresno County man accused of fatally shooting grandmother, dad's girlfriend on Christmas

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-28/man-fatally-shoots-grandmother-fathers-girlfriend-on-christmas

A 23-year-old man is accused of fatally shooting his grandmother and his father’s girlfriend and firing shots at his father on Christmas as the family gathered to exchange gifts in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Austin Alvarez was arrested Saturday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. He remains in the Fresno County jail on $2.5 million bail. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. Detectives have not yet determined the motive for the shootings. Authorities say Alvarez arrived at a family member’s home in Reedley in Central California and began firing a gun. In a news release, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said Alvarez shot and killed his 58-year-old grandmother, Magdalena Alvarez, and his father’s girlfriend, 39-year-old Meisa Rashid, around 1:45 p.m. The shooter fled the home and fired shots at Alvarez’s father, who was in a parked vehicle outside, but did not strike him, the sheriff’s office said. Authorities found Alvarez about 10 miles away and took him into custody.

Shark that killed man near Morro Bay was probably a great white, official says

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-12-27/shark-that-killed-man-in-california-was-likely-a-great-white

A shark that killed a man off the coast of Central California on Christmas Eve was probably a great white, an official said. The man was pulled from the waves near Morro Bay on Friday after a surfer saw him facedown in the water with a boogie board floating nearby. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:48 a.m. The victim’s name wasn’t released. But Morro Bay Harbor Director Eric Endersby said that the man was 31 years old and that officials had identified him and notified his next of kin. The man’s car was found parked in a dirt lot on the south side of Morro Creek, Endersby said Saturday. California A 31-year-old man was killed by a shark off the Morro Bay coast in what is believed to be San Luis Obispo County’s first such fatality in 18 years. Dec. 24, 2021 Endersby told the San Luis Obispo Tribune that there were no witnesses to the attack, although it was “definitely, clearly a shark attack” and probably involved a great white. Endersby, a 28-year harbor patrol employee, recalled a few area shark attacks in the last 10 years, but not a death. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student Nick Wapner was bitten by a great white shark on Jan. 9, 2019, off Montana de Oro State Park. Another attack also took place at the same beach in 2015 when a man in his 50s was believed to have been attacked by an 8- to 10-foot juvenile. Endersby thinks the last shark attack death occurred in August 2003 when a 50-year-old woman was killed at Avila Beach. Times staff writer Andrew J. Campa contributed to this report.

The year of the party tent: What the age of COVID taught us about architecture in 2021

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-12-15/2021-the-year-of-the-party-tent-covid-era-architecture

Over the course of the last year, I’ve eaten enchiladas in a party tent. I’ve gotten COVID-tested in a party tent. I spent a night dancing to house music in a party tent. I’ve seen party tents double as retail shops, church naves, gymnasiums and outdoor living rooms. On a couple of occasions, I’ve seen them deployed for actual parties. Last year, as the pandemic isolated us into our respective domestic cocoons, designers took to their AutoCAD to imagine a brave new world of design “solutions” for the pandemic. These included wearable head-to-thigh social distancing shields and space-age cones of safety for the dinner table (a phenomenon that critic Kate Wagner baptized “coronagrifting”). In retrospect, it’s absurd to think that architecture might have been reinvented — or even mildly rethought — by high-concept design that doesn’t get off the drafting table. We’ve learned infinitely more about how to rethink the design of our buildings from the pandemic’s most prominent workhorse: the party tent. The party tent, like its predecessor, the tent — a design that has been with humanity in one form or another for thousands of years — is endlessly flexible. It can be staked into soil or anchored on pavement. The simplest models, a standard canopy, can shield you from the sun; more protective ones come with collapsible walls that can be adapted to the weather as needed. Often they are basic white but can be customized with colors and logos. A basic model costs less than $200 at Target. Entertainment & Arts An Apple store redo of Tower Theatre and the renovated William Randolph Hearst Herald Examiner building bring Broadway’s historic architecture back from the brink. Nov. 15, 2021 The party tent is symbolic of all the other improvised architectures that have arisen during the pandemic: the parking lots turned into eating spaces with twinkle lights and umbrellas; the wooden dining platforms crafted out of plywood and two-by-fours; the izakaya on La Brea whose collapsible walls are actually transparent shower curtains. In Echo Park, Misty Mansouri, the owner of the Lady Byrd Café, has turned an impractical triangle of concrete on her property into an alfresco dining room courtesy of an ebullient agglomeration of Christmas trees and portable greenhouses employed as individual dining pods. Temporary structures can even be found in hyper-glam iterations — like the space-age, vented dining pod at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Beverly Hills. A 6,500-square-foot modular dining room constructed in the middle of Canon Drive, it was created by VX Design Solutions, a custom fabrication studio, and Choura, an event production company, and was assembled in less than a week. That structure opened in March 2021 and is still going strong. “We fill it up every single day,” says Steve Scott Springer, the restaurant’s general manager. Party tents may not be around for the long haul, but they have qualities that are worth integrating into the hardscape of our cities. They offer flexibility and permeability and serve as a reminder that in the mild Southern California climate we don’t always need to encase ourselves in hermetically sealed cells of HVAC. If well-building design issues such as fresh air and sunlight had been gaining currency before the pandemic, COVID-19 and its many variants have made it a matter of urgency. “Being able to kick open the doors makes people who are inside those doors feel so much better,” says architect Oonagh Ryan, founding principal of ORA, an L.A.-based studio that has worked extensively in the commercial and hospitality sectors. “And operable windows, those are key.” One of ORA’s most recent projects is the design of Agnes, a popular Pasadena comfort food outpost that also contains a cheese shop. Housed in a 1920s stable once employed by the Pasadena fire department, the bulk of the restaurant’s design was conceived before COVID, but a number of programmatic choices made since the pandemic began have helped make the space more resilient. The key is flexibility. The street-facing side has operable windows and the rear of the dining room has sliding doors that can be propped open to connect with a patio out back, drawing fresh air through the building. A private dining room likewise opens to the elements. The patio, which harbors additional seating, is protected by a weatherproof canopy that can be pulled back when the weather is mild. It’s an outdoor space that can be used come rain or come shine. And the furniture isn’t fixed, so it can be reconfigured into different densities. “All of our chairs are stackable,” Ryan says. “The picnic tables can be moved together and pulled apart.” “There are often these alley spaces and forgotten back spaces in the city and in Europe they are often used to good effect. We need to make better use of them in the United States.” — Oonagh Ryan, architect When the restaurant opened in June, the surge of COVID-19 infections had tapered off and indoor dining had resumed. But the pandemic made the coming months wildly uncertain, meaning that the design needed to be responsive to shifting health directives. “If the pandemic was still going strong,” Ryan says, “we had a plan for how we could rearrange everything into more retail.” Food If you’re searching for the essential food of L.A., let our critic’s 2021 restaurant list be your guide! Find the best vegetarian, Japanese, Mexican cuisine and more. Dec. 7, 2021 A restaurant like Agnes has the luxury of square footage: about 5,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space — not counting additional sidewalk dining out front. But sometimes all it takes is a sliver of outdoor space to make a building more functional — and, frankly, more pleasant to be in and around. When designing Esters Wine Shop & Bar in Santa Monica, which checks in at a far smaller 1,600 square feet, Ryan says she and her team incorporated a piece of pavement that lay between the building and the property line — adding nearly four dozen outdoor seats in the process. “We always land-grab other pieces of land when we can,” she says. The party tent, to a large degree, has allowed us to visualize all of these interstitial spaces — spaces that have historically been ceded to cars or lay unused. “There are often these alley spaces and forgotten back spaces in the city, and in Europe they are often used to good effect,” Ryan says. “We need to make better use of them in the United States.” Now the challenge is to make some of these pop-up spaces more permanent while retaining the flexibility that made them so practical during the pandemic. Already, many cities have been moving toward making dining parklets a permanent part of the landscape. City agencies in L.A. are studying ways to make L.A. Al Fresco, the outdoor dining program, a permanent feature, with greater attention to accessibility. New York City made its Open Restaurants program permanent last year and in July, San Francisco made its outdoor dining structures permanent — albeit with so many rules and regulations, many businesses will have to redesign these spaces from the ground up. Part of the solution may come in the form of modular designs that can be preapproved and snapped together like a kit of parts. The design studio Fantástica, which is based in New York City, has been at work on just that. Food Economic, lightweight vending equipment that meets health codes is practically impossible to find. Revolution Carts is hoping to change that. Dec. 7, 2021 Led by J. Manuel Mansylla, who goes by manman, Fantástica has devised a standardized parklet called Fast Casual, which can be easily installed with a kit of parts and offers a high standard of safety. Around the perimeter of each space, Fantástica uses water barriers, which resemble the concrete barriers used in road construction (known as K-rails) but are instead fabricated out of lightweight plastic. Easy to transport, these are filled with water once they have been arranged on site. When full, each can weigh close to 1,000 pounds. “A cluster of water barriers is designed to deflect a moving vehicle,” Mansylla says. “It gives it a lot more structural integrity than two-by-fours nailed to the sidewalk.” These are then fitted with an assortment of snap-on parts made of industrial materials: seating, countertop areas and canopies, all supported by Speed-Rail, an industrial railing manufactured by the Ohio-based Hollaender that is already in wide use in public areas. Moreover, the water barriers can be topped with a planter system that adds greenery and are even illuminated from within, making them more visible at night. “It’s meant to be adaptable and customized by the user,” Mansylla explains. Beyond the design, parklets of this nature could be flexible programmatically — employed for dining but also to create public plaza areas. “They should be less of an extension of a restaurant,” Mansylla says, “which is a privatization of public space.” Deployed contiguously on a single street, a string of parklets could be a simple way for a city to reclaim a thoroughfare from traffic. (Imagine shutting down Spring Street or Broadway in downtown L.A. for an improvised pedestrian mall.) “I think one of the biggest benefits that the pandemic has shown is how great the activation of these spaces has been for the city in general,” Mansylla says. “So much life pouring out into the street.” That life is unlikely to go back to the way it was before the pandemic. “During COVID, we were like, why don’t we have more alfresco dining?” says Spago’s Springer. “It changed our design direction.” The restaurant’s outdoor dining pod is permitted with the city of Beverly Hills through March, but Springer hopes to maintain it beyond that (especially since the construction of the Purple Line on Wilshire nearby is blocking traffic regardless). “Wolfgang would like to keep it as long as possible.” Plus, they are talking about renovating Spago so that it is more open to the elements. Currently, the restaurant has a small internal patio with 11 tables. The plan is to expand that. “Wolfgang would like to open up the ceiling in our main dining room, and we’d like to open the facade to the main sidewalk,” Springer says. “It has changed our perspective entirely in terms of taking advantage of air flow and the weather.” One day, the party tents will come down. Here’s hoping what they represent remains embedded in daily life.

‘Zola,’ A24 lead Indie Spirit award nominations

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-12-14/zola-a24-lead-indie-spirit-award-nominations

The Film Independent Spirit Awards, Hollywood’s leading indie film honors, stayed true to its name this year, bestowing a leading seven nominations to Janicza Bravo’s wild road trip saga “Zola,” including best feature, director and female lead for Taylour Paige. “The Novice,” a sports drama and psychological thriller from first-time filmmaker Lauren Hadaway, followed with five. Nominations for the 37th edition of the awards were announced Tuesday morning by Naomi Watts, Regina Hall and Beanie Feldstein. “Zola,” which was based on a viral twitter thread, was nominated for best feature alongside “The Novice,” the Italian-language drama “A Chiara,” “C’mon C’mon,” about a young boy and his uncle, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Elena Ferrante adaptation, “The Lost Daughter,” a meditation on motherhood and rage, which picked up four nods, including director, screenplay and supporting female actor for Jessie Buckley. Awards With even well-liked movies such as ‘West Side Story’ struggling to find an audience, a lackluster awards season isn’t what the industry had hoped for. Dec. 13, 2021 “Wild Indian,” a thriller about a long-ago murder of a classmate from another first-time filmmaker, Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr., also got four nominations. Nominees for female lead include Paige (“Zola”), Isabelle Fuhrman (“The Novice”), Brittany S. Hall (“Test Pattern”), Patti Harrison (“Together Together”) and Kali Reis (“Catch the Fair One”). Male lead nominees are Clifton Collins Jr. (“Jockey”), Frankie Faison (“The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain”), Michael Greyeyes (“Wild Indian”), Udo Kier (“Swan Song”) and Simon Rex (“Red Rocket”). It was a good morning overall for “Zola” studio and distributor A24, whose films received a total 13 nominations. A24’s slate included “The Humans,” Mike Mills’ “C’mon C’mon,” which got best director and screenplay, and the past-his-prime adult entertainer drama “Red Rocket.” Neon, which distributed “A Chiara” and “Pig,” and Netflix, which is behind “Passing” and “The Lost Daughter,” both got nine. Documentary nominees include Questlove’s “Summer of Soul,” Robert Greene’s “Procession,” Nanfu Wang’s “In the Same Breath,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee” and Jessica Kingdon’s “Ascension.” Critics’ awards darling “Drive My Car,” from Ryusuke Hamaguchi, was among the films nominated for international feature, alongside Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers” and Céline Sciamma’s “Petit Maman.” Awards “House of Gucci,” “King Richard” and “Don’t Look Up” are among this year’s star-laden Oscar contenders. Dec. 14, 2021 Historically, the Spirit Awards are held on the Saturday afternoon before the Oscars, but this year the presentation will take place on the evening of March 6, a few weeks before the Oscars on March 27. After going virtual earlier this year, the show is returning to an in-person event, beachside in Santa Monica. The show can sometimes serve as a preview of what will happen on Oscars night. Earlier this year, Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” picked up best feature and director at the Indie Spirits before going on to win the top prizes at the Oscars. “Moonlight,” “Spotlight,” “Birdman” and “12 Years a Slave” also all won at the Spirits before taking best picture at the Oscars. Because of their production budgets, many potential top contenders this year were not eligible, including “Belfast,” “King Richard” and “The Power of the Dog.” To be considered, films must have cost less than $22.5 million to make. The Spirit Awards also started honoring television shows earlier this year. This year’s scripted series nominees include “Blindspotting,” “It’s a Sin,” “Reservation Dogs,” “The Underground Railroad” and “We Are Lady Parts.” The 37th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast on IFC starting at 8 p.m. ET on March 6.

Senate rejects Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-12-08/senate-rejects-biden-vaccine-mandate-for-businesses

The Senate narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing. The vote was 52 to 48. The Democratic-led House is unlikely to take up the measure, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote gave senators a chance to voice opposition to a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents who worry about losing their jobs should the rule go into effect. “Every so often Washington, D.C., does something that lights up the phone lines. This is one of these moments,” said Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.). At home, he said, “this issue is what I hear about. This issue is a top-of-mind issue.” Lawmakers can invalidate certain federal agency regulations if a joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto. That’s unlikely to happen in this case. Under the rule, private-sector companies with 100 or more workers must require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would work with companies on compliance but would levy fines that could exceed $13,000 for each violation, though implementation and enforcement are suspended as the litigation unfolds. Politics The Biden administration believes mandating COVID-19 vaccines is the best way to end the pandemic. Here’s what you need to know. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Americans who have refused to get vaccinated are the biggest impediment to ending the pandemic. He implied that some of the resistance to mandated vaccines is based on politics. “Some of the anti-vaxxers here in this chamber remind me of what happened 400 years ago when people were clinging to the fact that the sun revolved around the Earth. They just didn’t believe science. Or 500 years ago when they were sure the Earth was flat,” Schumer said. Schumer said social media have played a role in spreading falsehoods about the vaccine, and “so has the far right.” He urged senators to vote against the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). Republicans said that they are supportive of the vaccine but that the mandate amounts to government overreach. “His mandates are under fire in the courts. Main Street job creators are complaining against it, and tonight, the U.S. Senate must send a clear message: Back off this bad idea,” Braun said. Some argued that the mandate may even contribute to people not getting vaccinated. “I think, actually, the mandate has made it worse in terms of hardening people who don’t want to be told what to do by the government,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said a telephone town hall she recently held with constituents made clear they are concerned about keeping their jobs if the mandate goes into effect. California The Northern California town of Oroville this month declared itself a “constitutional republic” because of COVID-19. Residents have mixed feelings. “If you look at my state, 40% of my state’s workforce stands to lose their job under this mandate,” Capito said. “It will be a killer to our economy.” In the end, two Democratic lawmakers voted with 50 Republicans to void the mandate, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana. Manchin had said in a tweet that he does not support any federal vaccine mandate for private businesses. Tester’s office said his opposition is based on conversations with Montana businesses that “expressed deep concerns about the negative effect on their bottom lines and our state’s economy during this fragile recovery period.” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) sided with the Biden administration, noting that the pandemic is still raging and that deaths are overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated. “How on Earth does it make sense right now to undercut one of the strongest tools that we have to get people vaccinated and stop this virus?” Murray said. “In what world is that a good idea?” The White House released a statement this week stating that Biden’s advisors would recommend he veto the resolution in the unlikely event it makes it to his desk. “The president wants to see Americans back on the job, and Americans back at work should not face risk from those who are not vaccinated and who refuse to be tested,” the White House said. Deaths in the United States stemming from COVID-19 are running close to 1,600 a day on average. The overall U.S. death toll less than two years into the pandemic could soon reach 800,000.

Police: Actor Jussie Smollett 'upset' camera didn't record alleged attack

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-12-01/police-jussie-smollett-upset-camera-didnt-record-attack

Jussie Smollett, who is accused of lying to police when he reported he was the victim of racist and homophobic attack in downtown Chicago, appeared troubled when he was told that a surveillance camera did not record the alleged assault, a police detective testified Wednesday. Chicago police detective Kimberly Murray said she interviewed the former “Empire” actor the morning of the January 2019 attack and that he told her he had been assaulted by two men — one white and wearing a ski mask, the other he couldn’t see — as he was returning home after buying a sandwich. Murray also said Smollett told her he had received a threatening phone call days earlier, but he refused to hand over his cellphone, which the detective said could help police piece together a timeline of what happened, and he wouldn’t consent to giving medical records or a DNA swab. Television ‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced to five months in jail for staging an attack on himself in 2019. This Q&A explains how we got here. March 11, 2022 She also said Smollett was “upset” when she told him a surveillance camera in the area didn’t capture the alleged attack because it was pointed away from the scene. Murray said she explained to the actor that the cover on the pod camera makes it impossible to know which way it is pointing. A Chicago police officer testified Tuesday that investigators tracked down two possible suspects in the assault — brothers who also worked on the “Empire” set in Chicago — using surveillance video and taxi and rideshare records. When taken into custody, they detailed for police how Smollett orchestrated the fake attack, including buying supplies and doing a “dry run” with them. A detective who interviewed Smollett two weeks after the alleged assault — and after the brothers, who are Black, had been taken into custody — said Smollett started to change his story. Smollett told Graves his attacker had “pale skin,” when he previously said he was white. When Graves confronted Smollett about the discrepancy, Smollett said the attacker “acted like he was white by what he said.” Graves also told Smollett the two brothers, Abimbola and Olabingo Osundairo, were in custody for the hate crime. “He said, ‘It can’t be them, they’re Black as sin,’” Graves recounted, saying he took that to mean the brothers’ skin is very dark. Graves testified that during the Feb. 14 interview, Smollett said he would sign a complaint against the brothers, though his attorney stopped him from doing so. About 90 minutes later, Smollett sent one of the brothers a text message, Graves said. “Brother... I love you. I stand with you,” the message read. “I know 1000% you and your brother did nothing wrong and never would. I am making a statement so everyone else knows. They will not get away with this. Please hit me when they let you go. I’m behind you fully.” Graves said he concluded Smollett had lied to him. Defense attorney Nenye Uche has said the brothers attacked Smollett, who is Black and gay, “because of who he is” and suggested Tuesday that the brothers were homophobic. World & Nation The trial of actor Jussie Smollett will boil down to whether the jury believes his version of what he says was a racist and homophobic attack. Nov. 29, 2021 Smollett is charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct for making what prosecutors say was a false police report — one count for each time he gave a report, to three different officers. The class 4 felony carries a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said if Smollett is convicted he likely would be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service. After their arrest, the Osundairo brothers told police Smollett asked them to stage the attack because he was unhappy about how the TV studio handled hate mail he had received, a lead detective on the case, Michael Theis, testified Tuesday. He said investigators corroborated their version of events using GPS, cellphone records and video evidence and found no instance where they concluded the men were lying. Jurors were shown surveillance video Tuesday of the brothers buying supplies, including a red hat they told police Smollett wanted them to wear to resemble supporters of then-President Donald Trump, and a piece of clothesline police said was later fashioned into the noose. Entertainment & Arts A special prosecutor says a grand jury has returned a six-count indictment accusing actor Jussie Smollett of lying to Chicago police Feb. 11, 2020 Jurors also saw a still image from a video that Theis said showed Smollett returning home the night of the alleged attack, with the clothesline draped around his shoulders. The clothesline was wrapped around his neck when officers arrived, Theis said, leading detectives to believe Smollett may have retied it. Uche has portrayed the Osundairo brothers as unreliable, and said when police searched their home they found heroin and guns. The brothers will testify at trial, but it’s unknown if Smollett will. Uche also sought to discredit the police investigation, suggesting detectives ignored possible leads. And he said a $3,500 check the actor paid the brothers was for personal training so he could prepare for an upcoming music video, not for carrying out the hoax, as prosecutors allege. Theis said the memo on the check said it was for “nutrition” and “training.”

Lawsuit: Ex-Mater Dei football player alleges hazing led to brain injury

https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/story/2021-11-23/mater-dei-football-hazing-lawsuit

A former Santa Ana Mater Dei High football player’s family filed a lawsuit Tuesday that described a culture of hazing within the nationally acclaimed program that left their son with a traumatic brain injury. The lawsuit, which was filed in Orange County Superior Court and names Mater Dei and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange as defendants, documents a hazing ritual known as “Bodies” during which two players fight “until [one] can’t take it anymore and gives up.” “The unwritten rules involve limiting their punches to the torso area between the shoulders and hips,” the complaint reads. “In an effort to fit in and be perceived as tough amongst teammates, the players sacrifice their physical health, beating each other in a sickening display that is at times videotaped by other players.” The court filing describes an altercation on Feb. 4 that targeted the plaintiff, who was a junior at the time and has since left the school, that went far beyond the torso blows typically administered as the team sought to build toughness and bolster its reputation as the top football program in the country. A former Mater Dei football player filed a lawsuit against the high school alleging the school has condoned a culture of hazing that puts students in danger. Nov. 23, 2021 The plaintiff had previously played other sports at Mater Dei but was a newcomer to the football program, whose fall season was postponed until the late winter because of a COVID-19 interruption. An athlete referred to as Teammate 1 in the lawsuit encouraged the plaintiff to participate in Bodies with Teammate 2, the son of a Mater Dei assistant football coach. In an effort to fit in, the lawsuit stated, the plaintiff agreed to participate in the fight against his much larger opponent. As a result of his decision to participate, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office does not plan to file charges in the case and views the altercation as mutual combat, according to Southern California News Group, which first reported the story. The fight began in the freshman locker room and spilled into the varsity locker room, with no staff stepping in to stop the blows, the lawsuit states. The plaintiff’s family obtained video of the incident that captures teammates shouting to Teammate 2 to “get that N word,” referring to the plaintiff, who is white. It was a clear mismatch, according to video viewed by the Southern California News Group, with the plaintiff’s swings badly missing and Teammate 2 repeatedly connecting on punches to the head and face that knocked the smaller athlete to the ground. High School Sports Before the Trinity League opener between Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, fans tailgated while others were waiting for the Braves’ famous snack bar. Oct. 1, 2021 The plaintiff is heard on the video saying to Teammate 2, “I thought we were playing Bodies,” according to the lawsuit, questioning why he was hit in the head and face instead of the torso. Teammate 2 responded with additional racial slurs. According to the the lawsuit, no Mater Dei staff intervened on behalf of the injured player, who struggled to stop blood coming from both sides of his face. He was told “not to snitch,” according to the lawsuit, and when an athletic trainer eventually examined his injuries, he said he had hit his face on a sink. The lawsuit alleges the trainer didn’t call for medical assistance and didn’t contact the plaintiff’s parents for 90 minutes. When the plaintiff’s father arrived at the school, he questioned the trainers about the explanation for his son’s injuries and lack of prompt treatment before taking him to a nearby urgent care facility. The player was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. A specialist determined his nasal fractures required immediate surgery to repair and reconstruct his nose. He stayed home from school for weeks recovering and experienced pain, slurred speech and cognitive dysfunction, the lawsuit states. The player changed his hair style and wears more hats in an effort to hide two defined scars above his eyes. He also has been through counseling to help cope with memories of the altercation. High School Sports Mater Dei, ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps, dominates Texas 6A power Duncanville from the start in a 45-3 victory to open the football season. Aug. 27, 2021 The lawsuit alleges that Mater Dei staff took extensive steps to minimize fallout from the fight. The school and Teammate 2 did not cooperate with a police investigation, suggested a search of player phones turned up no video of the incident that the plaintiff’s legal team later discovered and were reluctant to discipline players or stop the hazing tradition. “If I had a hundred dollars for every time these kids played Bodies or Slappies, I’d be a millionaire,” Mater Dei football coach Bruce Rollinson told the plaintiff’s father soon after the incident, according to the lawsuit. The complaint alleges Rollinson, in a subsequent interview with police, said he had “no knowledge of Bodies, or any form of hazing.” The plaintiff’s father says Rollinson, who has led Mater Dei to two national championships, told him he was “in a bind” from a disciplinary perspective because Teammate 2’s father was an assistant coach. When the plaintiff transferred from Mater Dei, the lawsuit states, his transfer paperwork flagged him with a “disciplinary restriction” that made him ineligible to participate in California Interscholastic Federation sports. “Despicably, Mater Dei staff told plaintiff’s father that had plaintiff remained at Mater Dei, he would not have been restricted from participating in Mater Dei sports,” the lawsuit read. “In sum, because Plaintiff withdrew from Mater Dei and left the school out of safety concerns, Mater Dei knowingly took steps to prevent Plaintiff from participating in sports at his new school.” High School Sports No. 1 Mater Dei holds off No. 2 Servite 46-37 with the help of a two-point conversion pass from holder Ryan Di Dodo, who broke his wrist on the play. Oct. 24, 2021 The plaintiff’s new school has since gained permission from CIF to allow him to participate in some sports. The former Mater Dei player’s family alleges negligence, violation of California’s hazing penal code, failure to properly protect the player and infliction of emotional distress. They are seeking damages to be determined during a trial along with medical expenses, legal costs, interest and any other relief the court deems proper. Mater Dei has not yet filed a response in court. Father Walter Jenkins, the president of Mater Dei, released a letter Wednesday that stated the school was limited in how it could respond due to pending litigation and privacy laws. “Please know that we take the matter seriously and commit to you that all aspects will be handled consistently and in accordance with the core values of our institution,” Jenkins wrote. “At this time, I respectfully ask for your faith and trust as we navigate the process ahead.” Message from Mater Dei president. pic.twitter.com/GCsfCTeqgc

It's never too early to talk Oscars. Here are 5 things to think about now

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-11-23/awards-season-oscars-dune-gucci

When we last left off, Joaquin Phoenix had just announced Anthony Hopkins as the winner of the evening’s final Oscar. Hopkins wasn’t on hand to accept. There was scattered applause from the few people sitting inside a nearly empty train station and ... that’s all folks. The 93rd Academy Awards ended not with a bang but a bleat. Seven months, two vaccination shots and a booster later, the motion picture academy is ready to try again, anxious, like so many people here and outside Hollywood, to forget the last couple of miserable years, put on a happy face and celebrate the magic of movies and, sure, content-churning streaming platforms. After inviting an additional 395 people to join this year, the academy now has about 10,700 members, half of which seemed to be at the screening of George Clooney’s pleasant-enough coming-of-age tale “The Tender Bar” early last month, packing the lobby of the Directors Guild just to get a glimpse of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez holding hands. Delta variant be damned, there are plenty of parties and receptions happening every night around town these days and even the post-screening buffets are once again booming. (Along with the Arclight Hollywood, can someone please resuscitate Souplantation?) In other words, it’s business as usual, even if the academy still isn’t hosting its regular weekend screenings for members, the disgraced Golden Globes might be announced next year on Facebook Live for all we know, and nobody in Hollywood has a clue where the film industry is heading. So what do we know? Here are five thoughts as we count the final days before the last two contenders — Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” adaptation and Guillermo del Toro’s psychological thriller “Nightmare Alley” — finally begin screening for voters and critics. 1. There will be a fixed 10 best picture nominees this year. After “The Dark Knight” best picture “snub,” the academy expanded the best picture pool to 10. That held for two years until leadership bowed to traditionalists’ complaints that the prestige of a nomination had been cheapened. In retrospect, that outrage seems a bit silly, given that the movies nominated in 2008, the last year with a fixed five, were “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader” and “Slumdog Millionaire.” No ... you wouldn’t want to dilute that kind of prestige, would you? For the next decade, rules were in place that would (supposedly) lead to five to 10 best picture nominees. (It always ended up being eight or nine.) But now we’re back to 10, and that’s cause for celebration. For one thing, academy members will now once again rank 10 movies on their nomination ballots instead of five, a mind- and bias-freeing improvement that will open up the best picture pool in a way that should satisfy anyone championing that proposed Popular Film Oscar three years ago. Consider the movies that were nominated in those two years of 10: “Up” (a classic that managed to escape the kids table that is the animated feature Oscar), “District 9” (smart sci-fi decrying xenophobia), “Winter’s Bone” (the kind of austere indie movie that rarely found favor before the expansion) and, yes, a Christopher Nolan movie, “Inception.” The new rules worked! And they will work again ... provided that tedious Bond movie doesn’t make it in. 2. “Dune” will be nominated for best picture. Or maybe I should say, in honor of Hans Zimmer’s molar-rattling score: DUNE WILL BE NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!! And it would have been nominated even if the rules hadn’t changed. I’ve spoken with a few academy members who love Denis Villeneuve’s polished, ponderous adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi classic. I’ve spoken with many who respect the scale, even if they needed to be occasionally nudged awake. (The true purpose of the Zimmer score, perhaps?) But everyone I’ve run into has at least seen it, either on (shudder) HBO Max or at one of the many, many screenings held for voters on the Warner Bros. lot. Factor in all the likely crafts recognition — sound, visual effects, film editing, production design, cinematography and, yes, original score — and “Dune” could prove to be a juggernaut on nominations morning. Acting nods will likely prove elusive, though, unless voters can’t shake the image of a jowly, naked Stellan Skarsgård from their memory banks. (Maybe that is what Timothée Chalamet sees when he puts his hand in the pain box.) 3. “House of Gucci” and “The Last Duel” probably won’t be nominated. Or, at least, they shouldn’t. Two new, big-swing movies from Ridley Scott, who will turn 84 at the end of the month, cannot be easily dismissed. But both films are crippled by cluttered, unfocused scripts and, in the case of the near-three-hour “Gucci,” an ensemble of actors who appear to have wildly different ideas about what movie they’re making. “Duel” died a quick death at the multiplex, though in these uncertain times, that’s not the badge of shame it used to be. “Gucci” has won some ardent fans swooning over Lady Gaga’s scenery-chewing, roaring, Haaaaaa-ahhhh-ahhh-ohhhh-ahhaaaaaa-ahhhh-ahhh-ohhhh-ah!!! turn as the story’s aggrieved Lady Macbeth stand-in, which I can appreciate up till the movie consigns her to the background. And by that point, a bald Jared Leto has already urinated on a Gucci scarf. I mean, where do you go from there? 4. Academy membership continues to grow globally. Let’s see that reflected in the voting. Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” became the first non-English-language movie to win best picture two years ago; Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg earned a directing nomination last year for “Another Round,” an Oscar that Bong also won. This year, you could make a strong case that both lead acting awards should go to actors in films originating from other countries: Norwegian standout Renate Reinsve for her star-making turn as a young woman navigating adulthood in Joachim Trier’s sublime “The Worst Person in the World” and Japan’s Hidetoshi Nishijima, spellbinding in what might be the year’s best movie, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s epic “Drive My Car.” You wouldn’t think most academy members would need to, in the immortal words of Bong, “overcome the 1-inch tall barrier of subtitles,” but it remains to be seen whether we’ll ever have a slate of nominations that truly reflect the best in film, unbound by borders. 5. Make sure this year’s ceremony has a host. And a sense of purpose. For reasons that were beyond the academy’s control (and others that could have easily been foreseen and fixed), last year’s Oscars felt diminished. Emulate Sir Ridley and take a big swing, even if it misses. The show needs to be big, bold and worthy of the grand tradition that is the Academy Awards. Bonus thought: Hire Hans Zimmer to conduct the orchestra. It’d be worth a little temporary tinnitus to help get that Oscar swagger back.

Letters to the Editor: 'Crypto.com Arena' will be a billboard for an environmental menace

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-11-18/cryptocurrencies-crypto-com-arena

To the editor: I understand cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are “mined” from supercomputers that together consume enough energy to power a whole country. The energy used to create just one bitcoin can power a house for several weeks. (“Staples Center’s new name is perfect for our crypto era,” editorial, Nov. 17) While the rest of us are conserving everything to do with energy, from water to paper to fossil fuels, a foreign cryptocurrency exchange will soon be allowed to put its name on Staples Center. What gives? Patricia Larsen, Venice .. To the editor: Does it really matter what you name something? After Staples Center becomes Crypto.com Arena, many will still call it the “House that Kobe Built,” and die-hards will still say Staples Center. The Kodak Theatre in Hollywood briefly became the Hollywood and Highland Center before it was finally christened the Dolby Theatre, but to me it is still the Kodak Theatre. I am one of those people who still calls CVS “Sav-on.” Morley J. Helfand, Arcadia .. To the editor: Crypto.com is too long for the name of the arena. It should be the Crypt, because the Lakers are playing like the walking dead. Laura Frankos, Chatsworth

German lawmakers back new COVID measures after warnings of a 'terrible Christmas'

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-11-18/german-disease-control-head-warns-terrible-christmas-covid

German lawmakers approved new measures Thursday to rein in record coronavirus infections after the head of Germany’s disease-control agency warned that the country could face a “really terrible Christmas.” The measures passed in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house, with votes from the center-left Social Democrats, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats. The three parties are currently negotiating to form a new government. The legislation includes requirements for employees to prove that they are vaccinated, recovered from COVID-19 or have tested negative for the coronavirus in order to access communal workplaces; a similar rule would apply to public transportation. The measures still need to be approved by Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat. Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats had wanted to extend existing rules, set to expire this month, that have served as the basis for numerous national and statewide restrictions since March 2020. Under the new legislation, Germany’s 16 states would be able to impose restrictions on cultural and sports events only if their regional assemblies approve the measure. Merkel’s party said that would weaken the instruments at authorities’ disposal at a time when infections are soaring again. The Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s disease-control agency, said Thursday that 65,371 newly confirmed cases had been reported in a single day, continuing the upward trend that experts have been warning about for weeks. Total deaths are nearing 100,000, with 264 reported Wednesday. “We are currently heading toward a serious emergency,” institute director Lothar Wieler said during an online debate late Wednesday. “We are going to have a really terrible Christmas if we don’t take countermeasures now.” World & Nation Austria has taken what its leader calls the dramatic step of imposing a nationwide lockdown on residents who haven’t been inoculated against COVID-19. Nov. 16, 2021 Wieler said Germany needs to increase its vaccination rates to significantly above 75%, from 67.7% at present. The eastern state of Saxony, which at 57.6% has the country’s lowest immunization rate, is poised to impose a limited lockdown in response to soaring case numbers. Gov. Michael Kretschmer said the state government would decide on a “hard and clear wave-breaker” Friday lasting two to three weeks. Official figures show that Saxony had more than 761 newly confirmed cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last week, the highest infection rate in Germany. Germany’s independent vaccine advisory panel said Thursday that it is recommending booster shots for all people over 18. But it said people who are over 70, at risk for other reasons or who haven’t received any vaccine yet should be prioritized. Wieler warned that hospitals across Germany are struggling to find beds for COVID-19 patients and those with other illnesses. Hospitals in the district of Rottal-Inn, in southeast Germany, appealed this week for nurses and doctors to get in touch, saying it could use the help of “every hand [to] cope with this difficult situation.” Merkel was due to meet the governors of Germany’s 16 states Thursday to discuss joint efforts against the pandemic.

Review: 'Dexter: New Blood' revives Michael C. Hall drama's killer instinct

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-11-07/dexter-new-blood-review-michael-c-hall-serial-killer

Beloved serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is back to slay another day with the arrival of Showtime’s 10-episode miniseries “Dexter: New Blood.” The sequel, which premieres Sunday, is set 10 years after the last episode of the original series, “Dexter” — one of the most popular cable dramas of the 2000s despite its notoriously disappointing, eighth-season finale. Now we find Dexter in his new life, using the assumed identity of James Lindsay, resident of the sleepy, snowbound Iron Lake, N.Y. “Jim” is a clerk at Fred’s Fish and Game store where they sell big guns and knives. Unremarkably, he’s the go-to expert on all matter of weaponry. Remarkably, he hasn’t killed anyone in a decade. But for the sake of this new series, that’s about to change … Television The Hulu comedy, in which true crime-obsessed neighbors team up to solve a murder, pokes fun at the genre’s excesses without dismissing its appeal. Oct. 5, 2021 Fans of the original show have voiced nervousness about a revival featuring the socially awkward antihero, a former blood spatter expert for the Miami police department who committed more heinous crimes than he solved. The series was devilishly clever in portraying Dexter’s moral bargain: Since he couldn’t quell his deadly impulses, he harnessed them for good, eliminating the bad guys and protecting the innocents of Miami like a murderous Robin Hood. Ghoulish as his deeds were, fans of the show often found Dexter more likable than his reprehensible victims. It’s doubtful any finale would have been good enough to cap eight seasons of “Dexter,” but blowing it all away with a hurricane was particularly lame. So can Dexter Morgan, the harbinger of death, bring the story back to life? He can and does along with show creator Clyde Phillips and a cast that includes returning characters such as the memory of his surly sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), who was killed off in the finale, and creepy Arthur Mitchell, a.k.a. the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow). Fresh faces include Dexter’s now teenage son Harrison (Jack Alcott) and a new love interest, hyper-competent Police Chief Angela Bishop (Julia Jones). This miniseries revives old themes but drops in enough new conflicts — internal and otherwise — to pull the narrative forward into fresh terrain. When Dexter moved to the woods he tried to leave his “dark passenger” back in Florida (home to many other prolific serial killers). He figured it would work if he just stuck to his daily routine — morning stop at the pastry shop, clock in at work, dinner with the girlfriend, then home. But when circumstances spin out of his control, he finds old habits returning. Television Netflix’s four-part docuseries “Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer” deftly captures a time and place that many Angelenos will never forget. Jan. 13, 2021 “I’ve gotten rusty in my abstinence,” he admits to himself after the first kill in ages. The miniseries, like the protagonist, feels out-of-practice as well but that clunkiness wears off by the close of the first episode. The pace picks up when the carefully orchestrated life of “Jim” falls apart and the real Dexter emerges. Tension and logistical nightmares (where do you bury a body when the ground is frozen solid and a bear is guarding the old abandoned mine shaft?!) create high drama as the story branches into several mysteries and crises: missing and slain Indigenous women, another potential apex predator and a new generation of killers in the making. “New Blood” is tonally in line with the original series but strikes a different psychological note. Dexter is a single father of a snarky teen now. He needs to protect and guide his son, just like his late, adoptive father, policeman Harry Morgan (James Remar) did for him when he was a boy, so add mentor to the list of roles he plays while cleaning up body parts in his wake. Sadly for viewers, Harry is no longer the ghost and/or conscience who guides Dexter as he did in the former series. Now it’s up to his late sister, Deb. She prefers verbal rants and smacks on the head to measured advice and patience, and her intensity is grating at times, even on Dexter. But he really doesn’t need much guidance these days. He’s a changed man, even though his dark passenger still compelled him to unpack, and use, the plastic tarps, duct tape and knife set. Now Dexter doesn’t need to gather a sample of his victim’s blood on a glass slide as he used to. “I don’t need trophies anymore,” he says. “I may be a monster, but I’m an evolving monster.” ‘Dexter: New Blood’ Where: ShowtimeWhen: 9 p.m. SundayRating: TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 17)

Paul Newman's unpublished memoir, found in his Connecticut home, to come out in 2022

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-11-03/paul-newman-memoir-left-unpublished-to-come-out-next-year

A memoir Paul Newman left unpublished in his lifetime will come out next fall. Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced Wednesday that the book, currently untitled, will include Newman’s thoughts on “acting, directing, boyhood, family, fame, Hollywood, Broadway, love, his first marriage, his 50-year marriage to Joanne Woodward, drinking, politics, racing, his ultimate ride to stardom, and aging gracefully.” Newman, who died in 2008, began the book in the 1980s with the help of screenwriter Stewart Stern, who in turn spoke to dozens of Newman’s friends and associates. It was recently found in the Connecticut home where Woodward, 91, still lives. Obituaries Refusing to romanticize his nonconformist characters, the star put his sex appeal to complicated and fascinating use. Sept. 28, 2008 “Through Newman’s voice, and the voices of others, the book captures the paradoxical and unstoppable rise of a star who wrestled with doubts, believing he was inferior to Marlon Brando and James Dean, and yet transcended his ‘hunk’ status to become an Oscar-winning actor, champion race car driver, social activist, and entrepreneur whose philanthropy has generated nearly a billion dollars for charitable causes,” according to Knopf. “This result is a portrait of the actor in full, from his early days to his years in the Navy, from his start in Hollywood to his rise to stardom, and with an intimate glimpse of his family life.” Movies Paul Newman in classics and oddities Sept. 22, 2009

In 2nd weekend, ‘Dune’ bests 'Last Night in Soho,' 'Antlers'

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-10-31/in-2nd-weekend-dune-bests-last-night-in-soho-antlers

After a record-breaking start, October’s box office closed out quietly this weekend with “Dune” repeating at number one and two prominent genre newcomers, “Last Night in Soho” and “Antlers,” stumbling. Whether it’s due to Halloween falling on a Sunday, too many new options or simply a lack of enthusiasm, moviegoing audiences seemed to have other plans this weekend. Notable exceptions are the latest “My Hero Academia” and the new Wes Anderson pic “The French Dispatch.” First place still went to the bigger budget and wider release Timothée Chalamet film. In its second weekend in theaters, “Dune,” which is also available on HBO Max, grossed an additional $15.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Although down a steep 62% from its debut, the ticket sales were enough to give it one more week atop the North American charts. With a production budget of $165 million (not including marketing and promotion), “Dune” has now grossed $69.4 million in North America and $292.1 millon globally. Warner Bros. and Legendary last week confirmed plans to go ahead with a sequel that is expected to open exclusively in theaters in 2023. Movies Jamie Lee Curtis returns in director David Gordon Green’s “Halloween Kills,” a pointless sequel to the 2018 reboot of the horror franchise. Oct. 13, 2021 “Halloween Kills,” in its third weekend, placed second with $8.5 million. The penultimate film in this modern trilogy has now grossed $115.1 million globally. Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho,” meanwhile, opened in sixth place. Playing on 3,016 screens, the stylish thriller distributed by Focus grossed an estimated $4.2 million. Thomasin McKenzie stars as a modern-day fashion student who at night dreams increasingly realistic dreams of Anya Taylor-Joy’s aspiring singer in the 1960s. “There are few bigger champions of the theatrical experience than Edgar and we couldn’t be prouder he has made Focus his home,” said Lisa Bunnell, Focus’ president of distribution. Scott Cooper’s “Antlers,” about a mythical beast terrorizing a blighted Oregon town, also earned an estimated $4.2 million from 2,800 locations. The Searchlight-distributed horror stars Keri Russell and Jesse Plemons. “Obviously, we hoped for a little more but we went up head to head against ‘Last Night in Soho,’ another really good genre film,” said Frank Rodriguez, Searchlight’s head of distribution. “They may have cancelled each other out.” But he’s optimistic going forward since next weekend’s big releases include the Princess Diana film “Spencer” and the Marvel epic “Eternals,” and “Antlers” has a different audience. One of the brighter spots of the weekend was “ The French Dispatch,” also distributed by Searchlight, which expanded after a limited debut and made $2.8 million from only 788 total locations. In 10 days of release, it’s made $4.6 million. Movies Wes Anderson’s new magazine-style anthology film, plus ‘Becoming Cousteau,’ ‘The Harder They Fall’ and more. Oct. 22, 2021 “We’re still ecstatic about it,” Rodriguez said. “It’s amazing to see art house theaters who haven’t seen numbers like this in 18 months finally starting to see people coming out ... We are helping to open up the doors to art house and specialty theaters.” Although the weekend was muted, October has become the highest grossing month of the year with total grosses expected to net out around $625 million. The previous high-water mark came in July with $583.8 million. “October became a blockbuster month by virtue of the unusual nature of the pandemic. So many big movies moved into October,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “It surpassed July. That never happens.” Things aren’t quite back to “normal” yet. For comparison, total grosses in pre-pandemic October 2019 were around $781.6 million and in 2018 were $830.8 million. But, Dergarabedian said the robust October 2021 box office has created a momentum that should continue through the end of the year. “This sets up a final three months of the year that feel more like summer than summer did in 2021,” he added. “Audiences follow the movie no matter what month they’re in. The movies define the month — the month doesn’t define the movies.” Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. “Dune,” $15.5 million. 2. “Halloween Kills,” $8.5 million. 3. “No Time To Die,” $7.8 million. 4. “My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission,” $6.4 million. 5. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” $5.8 million. 6. “Antlers,” $4.2 million. 7. “Last Night in Soho,” $4.2 million. 8. “Ron’s Gone Wrong,” $3.8 million. 9. “The Addams Family 2,” $3.3 million. 10. “The French Dispatch,” $2.8 million.

Tahoe ski resort opens early, joining Mammoth Mountain, after massive snowstorm

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-28/tahoe-ski-resort-opens-early-after-massive-stowstorm

Another California ski resort has moved up its opening day, thanks to this week’s huge dump of snow in the Sierra Nevada. Palisades Tahoe will join Mammoth Mountain in starting its season early, opening Friday. Palisades Tahoe said the massive storm, fed by a potent atmospheric river, dropped more than 3 feet of snow on its upper mountains. The resort plans to be open on weekends only as conditions allow until full-time operations begin Nov. 24. Mammoth also moved up its opening to Friday — two weeks ahead of schedule — after forecasts predicted the powerful storm. Travel & Experiences Mammoth Mountain ski resort will open two weeks earlier than scheduled thanks to recent snowstorms. Oct. 28, 2021 “We can’t wait to let it rip on snow,” the mountain resort wrote in a Facebook post last week announcing the new season’s opening day. The slopes were initially set to open Nov. 13. A slate of activities are planned for Halloween weekend, including a countdown to the winter season and a themed costume contest. Earlier this year, the Tahoe ski resort dropped its historic Squaw Valley name after its owners acknowledged it was offensive to Indigenous people. “This name change reflects who we are as a ski resort and community,” Dee Byrne, president and chief operating officer of the resort, said in September. The new name — meaning steep, high cliffs — is a reference to the sheer granite faces and chutes around the resort. The resort’s new logo resembles an eagle above two mountain peaks. Palisades Tahoe encompasses both the former Squaw Valley and the adjacent Alpine Meadows ski resort. Times staff writers Lila Seidman and Hugo Martín contributed to this report.

Ed Sheeran has COVID, will do performances from home

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-10-24/ed-sheeran-has-covid-will-do-performances-from-home

British pop star Ed Sheeran said Sunday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will do interviews and performances from his house while he self-isolates. Sheeran, 30, broke the news on social media days before his new studio album is due out. “Quick note to tell you that I’ve sadly tested positive for Covid, so I’m now self-isolating and following government guidelines,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram. “It means that I’m now unable to plough ahead with any in person commitments for now, so I’ll be doing as many of my planned interviews/performances I can from my house. Apologies to anyone I’ve let down.” Sheeran had just been announced as the musical guest on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on Nov. 6. Representatives did not immediately say which performances he is canceling and which he will carry out from home. Sheeran’s official website lists no performances before April. The four-time Grammy winner’s new studio album is called “=,” which is pronounced “Equals.”

Power mostly restored after outages affect thousands in Orange County

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-10-23/seal-beach-outage

Power outages across Orange County left thousands without electricity for a while Saturday morning, according to Southern California Edison. At 8:30 a.m., “failed equipment” left at least 5,000 Laguna Beach residents without power. By early afternoon, only a few dozen were still affected, according to Taelor Bakewell, a spokesperson for the utility, and full service was expected to be restored by 3 p.m. Another outage that left thousands in the dark in Seal Beach on Saturday morning was caused by a downed power line, police said on social media, adding that residents in and around the Leisure World retirement community may have been affected. Leisure World is home to nearly 10,000 seniors, one-third of the Seal Beach population. The Seal Beach outage was resolved by early afternoon. According to Bakewell, the outages were not related to rainy weather in Southern California. “We have a very wide service area — it’s about 50,000 square miles,” she said. “It can be a range of different reasons for outages, so there isn’t one specific cause, especially for the Orange County area today.”

Next on FDA's agenda: Booster shots of the Moderna and J&J vaccines

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2021-10-12/next-on-fdas-agenda-booster-shots-of-moderna-j-j-vaccines

With many Americans who got Pfizer vaccinations already rolling up their sleeves for booster shots, millions of others who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine wait anxiously to learn when it’s their turn. Federal regulators will begin tackling that question this week. On Thursday and Friday, the Food and Drug Administration will convene its independent advisory committee for the first stage in the process of deciding whether extra doses of the two vaccines should be dispensed and, if so, who should get them and when. The final go-ahead is not expected for at least another week. After the FDA advisors give their recommendation, the agency itself will make a decision on whether to authorize boosters. Then next week, a panel convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will offer more specifics on who should get them. Its decision is subject to approval by the CDC director. The process is meant to bolster public confidence in the vaccines. But it has already led to conflicts among experts and agencies — and documents the FDA released Tuesday suggest this week’s decisions will be equally difficult. In a vaccine dispute last month, the CDC’s advisory panel backed Pfizer boosters at the six-month point only for older Americans, nursing home residents and people with underlying health problems. But CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky disregarded those recommended limits and decided boosters should also be offered to those with high-risk jobs, such as teachers and healthcare workers, adding tens of millions more Americans to the list. Some health experts fear the back-and-forth deliberations are muddling the public effort to persuade the unvaccinated to get their first shots. They worry that the talk of boosters will lead people to wrongly doubt the effectiveness of the vaccines in the first place. Science & Medicine We look at the science behind the need for COVID-19 booster shots. Aug. 18, 2021 When the FDA’s panel meets to review the Moderna and J&J vaccines, experts will discuss whether a third Moderna shot should contain just half the original dose and what the best timing would be for a second shot of the single-dose J&J vaccine. The panel will also look into the safety and effectiveness of mixing and matching different brands of vaccine, something U.S. regulators have not endorsed so far. An estimated 103 million Americans are fully vaccinated with Pfizer’s formula, 69 million with Moderna’s and 15 million with J&J’s, according to the CDC. Regulators took up the question of Pfizer boosters first because the company submitted its data ahead of the other vaccine makers. Science & Medicine Approving COVID-19 booster shots seemed like a slam dunk, but two influential advisory boards raised a host of complicated questions. Sept. 29, 2021 Tim Anderson, a U.S. history teacher at a high school outside Louisville, Ky., already had his two Moderna shots months before he came down with COVID-19 in August. While his symptoms hit him “like a sledgehammer,” he is convinced that the inoculation saved him and his girlfriend from the more severe effects of the disease. The two are now awaiting clearance of a Moderna booster shot. “Until we can build up enough immunity within our own self and, you know, as a group of humans, I’m willing to do what I need to do,” Anderson, 58, said. The FDA meetings come as U.S. vaccinations have climbed back above 1 million per day on average, an increase of more than 50% over the past two weeks. The rise has been driven mainly by Pfizer boosters and employer vaccine mandates. While the FDA and CDC so far have endorsed Pfizer boosters for specific groups only, Biden administration officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have suggested that extra shots will eventually be recommended for most Americans. Science & Medicine Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine does a significantly better job of preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations compared with Pfizer’s shot. Sept. 17, 2021 In a new review of Moderna’s data, the FDA did not indicate Tuesday whether it was leaning toward clearing the company’s booster. It said vaccines used in the U.S. still provide protection, and it raised questions about some of Moderna’s data. The two initial Moderna shots contain 100 micrograms of vaccine each. But the drugmaker says 50 micrograms ought to be enough for a booster for healthy people. A company study of 344 people gave them a 50-microgram shot six months after their second dose, and levels of virus-fighting antibodies jumped. Moderna said the booster triggered a 42-fold rise in antibodies able to target the extra-contagious Delta variant. Side effects were similar to the fevers and aches that Moderna recipients commonly experience after their second regular shot, the company said. As for people who got the J&J vaccine, the company submitted data to the FDA for different options: a booster shot at two months or at six months. The company said in its FDA submission that a six-month booster is recommended but that a second dose could be given at two months in some situations. Science & Medicine A new study confirms the dramatic erosion of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine’s protection against breakthrough infections. Oct. 4, 2021 J&J released data in September showing that a booster given at two months provided 94% protection against moderate-to-severe COVID-19 infection. The company has not disclosed patient data for a six-month booster, but early measures of virus-fighting antibodies suggest it provides even higher protection. Even without a booster, J&J says, its vaccine remains about 80% effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. for at least several months after inoculation. Scientists emphasize that all three vaccines used in the U.S. still offer strong protection against severe disease and death from COVID-19. The issue is how quickly, and how much, protection against milder infection may wane. In one recent study, researchers compared about 14,000 people who had gotten their first Moderna dose a year ago with 11,000 vaccinated eight months ago. As the Delta variant surged in July and August, the more recently vaccinated group had a 36% lower rate of “breakthrough” infections compared with those vaccinated longer ago. Associated Press writer Bobby Caina Calvan in New York contributed to this report.

Fed up by pandemic, Kellogg workers join a wave of strikes in food industry

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-10-06/kellogg-us-food-workers-launch-rare-strikes

A summer of labor unrest at U.S. food manufacturers has stretched into fall, as pandemic-weary workers continue to strike for better pay. About 1,400 workers at Kellogg Co.’s U.S. cereal plants walked off the job this week, saying negotiations with the company over pay and benefits are at an impasse. Meanwhile, in Kentucky, a strike by 420 workers against Heaven Hill Distillery is in its fourth week. The actions come on top of strikes earlier this summer by 600 workers at a Frito-Lay plant in Topeka, Kan., and 1,000 workers at five Nabisco plants across the U.S. In June, Smithfield Foods narrowly avoided a strike by thousands of workers at a plant in Sioux Falls, S.D. The number of actions is unusual. Kellogg says this is the first time its U.S. cereal workers have gone on strike since 1972. Nabisco workers last walked off the job in 1969. But after a difficult 18 months, which saw many workers putting in 12-hour shifts and mandatory overtime to meet pandemic demand, employees are in no mood to compromise. “We’re drawing a line in the sand,” said Rob Long, a production mechanic who has worked at Kellogg’s Omaha plant for 11 years. Kellogg workers are also striking in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Long said he and others are upset about a two-tiered system of employees that gives fewer benefits and less pay to newer workers, creating a wedge within the ranks. Long said the company wants to get rid of a provision that currently caps the lower tier of workers at 30% of the workforce. After decades of watching companies chip away at pay and benefits, food workers sense that they have a rare upper hand during the pandemic, said Patricia Campos-Medina, the executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell. Labor shortages mean companies can’t easily find replacements for food production workers, she said. And the pandemic put a spotlight on the essential — and sometimes dangerous — nature of their work. “Workers in general are demanding that companies invest more in the workforce and not just use the profits for the shareholders,” she said. Campos-Medina said the trend is not only happening with unionized workers like those at Kellogg, who are members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union. Nonunion fast-food workers have walked off the job in dozens of U.S. cities, seeking a $15 minimum wage. And workers at three Starbucks stores in Buffalo, N.Y., are trying to unionize. The strikes come as food companies are still trying to get back to normal levels of production. Kellogg’s cereal sales had been anemic for years, for example, as families shifted to portable breakfast items such as nutrition bars. But when schools closed and kids were home last year, U.S. cereal sales shot up 7%. This year, they’re down 7.7%. Kris Bahner, Kellogg’s senior vice president for global corporate affairs, says the company’s compensation and benefits are already among the industry’s best. The company, which is based in Battle Creek, Mich., says its longer-term employees made an average of $120,000 last year and $118,000 in 2019, and its proposed contract would shift newer workers to those higher wage rates over six years. “We are disappointed by the union’s decision to strike,” she said. Kellogg began negotiating a new four-year contract Sept. 8. But workers on the picket line in Omaha say they’re routinely working 74- to 84-hour weeks to earn that money. Some workers said they’ve endured 12-hour shifts seven days a week throughout the pandemic, with only a few minutes’ notice about mandatory overtime. “We do make good money, but we’ve given up a lot,” said Dan Jourdan, a packing machine operator who has worked at Kellogg since 2001. “If we worked just 40 hours a week, we’d make nowhere near that kind of wage.”

Fossil fuels are astonishingly harmful. The Orange County oil spill is just a reminder

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-10-05/huntington-beach-orange-county-oil-spill-fossil-fuel-environmental-health-harms

When scientists and activists make the case for phasing out fossil fuels, they often focus on the climate crisis: Stop burning coal, oil and natural gas, and we can prevent wildfires, droughts, heat waves and storms from continuing to get worse. But the catastrophic oil spill in Southern California over the weekend offered a stark reminder that the damage to human health and the natural world from powering society with fossil fuels is far greater than just a warming planet. Experts pointed to the leaking oil pipeline off the Orange County coast as just one example of the nonstop harm caused by drilling, production and combustion. Even without the climate crisis, there are many reasons to refashion the global economy around solar and wind energy, they said. Those reasons include astonishingly deadly air pollution, contamination of water supplies, destruction of wildlife habitat and the never-ending barrage of leaks, spills and blowouts that can kill people and animals and stain beloved landscapes. “From a societal point of view, it only makes sense because the oil companies and gas companies and coal companies don’t actually pay all of these bills. They just pass them on,” said Drew Shindell, a climate scientist at Duke University. “For society as a whole to support the use of fossil fuels, it just doesn’t make sense, especially when we have alternatives now.” California A major oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach, Calif., washed up on nearby Orange County beaches, killing fish and birds and threatening local wetlands. Nov. 30, 2021 Shindell’s latest research focuses not on carbon dioxide emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere, but rather ozone and fine-particle pollution that damages the human body. He offered a preview of the soon-to-be-published findings in congressional testimony last year, telling lawmakers that keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) — the goal agreed upon by every nation on Earth — would prevent 4.5 million premature deaths and millions more hospitalizations and emergency room visits in the United States alone over the next 50 years. The economic benefits — in terms of lives saved, hospital visits avoided and workdays not lost due to illness or deaths — would exceed $700 billion per year, higher than published estimates of the costs of weaning the economy off fossil fuels. Shindell’s air pollution estimates only cover health conditions such as heart and lung disease for which there’s a long enough track record of scientific data to run the numbers with confidence. Newer strains of research — such as studies linking fossil fuel pollution to preterm births and cognitive declines in children — would make the picture even worse. “With or without climate change, the benefits of getting rid of fossil fuels outweigh the costs,” Shindell said. Our oceans. Our public lands. Our future. Get Boiling Point, our new newsletter exploring climate change and the environment, and become part of the conversation — and the solution. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Those health costs stem from the everyday production and burning of coal, oil and gas. But the consequences only grow during a moment of chaos such as the Orange County pipeline rupture, which dumped at least 126,000 gallons of crude into the Pacific. It’s yet to be seen how many fish, birds and other animals will die from oil exposure. But these types of events have a poor track record. British oil giant BP paid a $100-million fine after the much larger Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico killed an estimated 1 million birds, a disaster that may also have resulted in nearly $1 billion in losses for the seafood industry. What’s more, oil spills are distressingly common, with thousands occurring in the United States each year. One infamous spill off the Louisiana coast has been going strong since 2004. Just last month Southern California Gas Co., the nation’s largest gas utility, agreed to a $1.8-billion settlement after its Aliso Canyon storage field leaked for nearly four months, sickening local residents. Jackie Savitz, chief policy officer for North America at the environmental group Oceana, described offshore drilling in particular as “dirty and dangerous from the time it starts, even from the exploration phase,” when seismic blasting can disturb marine life. She said it’s vital for Congress to approve the $3.5-trillion “Build Back Better” plan being pushed by President Biden and Democratic lawmakers. The legislation would ban new offshore oil and gas leases in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, among many provisions designed to increase clean energy and phase out fossil fuels. It’s not clear what Congress will do. Two Senate Democrats, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have said they’re not comfortable with the price tag. Without their votes, and with no Republican support, the bill won’t pass. “Unfortunately the [fossil fuel] industry has these champions that won’t hear of it,” Savitz said. “That’s what’s keeping us in this dangerous business that’s literally creating existential problems for our country, and for our planet.” Support our journalism Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. In the meantime, the Biden administration just scheduled a huge oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. A judge ordered the sale after the president attempted to pause new leases, but Savitz said the president’s appointees are going too far. “They’re selling off all the rest of the leases in the Gulf of Mexico that they could legally sell,” she said. The fossil fuel industry and its supporters argue that American society couldn’t function without coal, oil and gas. Solar and wind power, they say, aren’t capable of keeping the lights on 24 hours a day, at least not without batteries and other energy storage technologies that aren’t ready for prime time. They also say that moving too quickly to renewables would raise energy costs. But a growing number of scientists have found otherwise. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, for instance, says Los Angeles can achieve 98% clean electricity by 2030 without increasing the risk of blackouts or disrupting the local economy. University of Oxford researchers published a working paper last month estimating that a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy could save $26 trillion in energy costs globally. Renewable power plants can cause environmental problems, too. In California, solar farms have destroyed habitat used by desert tortoises and other at-risk species. Wind turbines kill birds, as former President Trump liked to point out. Lithium, a metal used in electric vehicle batteries and solar power storage, is mostly produced via environmentally destructive processes. Still, there’s no comparison between those problems and the destruction wrought by fossil fuels, said Dustin Mulvaney, an environmental studies professor at San Jose State. Much of his research deals with the challenges posed by clean energy development, including solar panel supply chains and land-use conflicts. But the Huntington Beach oil spill, Mulvaney noted, is the type of “catastrophic accident” that you’d never see at a solar or wind farm. “There’s just no mess that could be made so big,” he said. Especially in the Western United States, habitat fragmentation is one of the most significant negative consequences of energy production — both renewable and fossil. The region has vast stretches of relatively undisturbed landscapes, where solar and wind farms are now adding to the pressures posed by mining, grazing and oil and gas extraction. A 2016 study from scientists at the Nature Conservancy compared the land area consumed by different types of energy. Although wind and solar farms take up more space on the landscape than oil or gas extraction per unit of energy produced, they found, fossil fuel companies need to keep finding new land to drill — unlike renewable energy developers, who can build a facility in one spot and then let it hum away for decades. That led the scientists to conclude that the land-use effects are comparable. “There are always trade-offs,” said Nels Johnson, the Nature Conservancy’s North America energy program director. “But with renewable energy you have more flexibility in terms of where you put stuff. Wherever the wind blows or the sun is shining is a potential place for developing wind or solar energy,” meaning unlike with fossil fuels — which need to be extracted wherever they happen to be found — sensitive locations can be avoided with smart planning. Business An 11th-hour Trump administration proposal foreshadows a tough balancing act for Biden on public lands. Jan. 21, 2021 And as for birds and wind turbines? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates the death toll at half a million per year at most, which the National Audubon Society points out is “significantly less than deaths caused by outdoor cats and building collisions.” Audubon says it’s important to do everything possible to minimize the threat posed by wind farms. But Garry George, who leads Audubon’s clean energy initiative, said the Orange County oil spill is a sad reminder that fossil fuels are a far worse threat. “I’ve never heard of a wind turbine spill,” he said. “That’s just another reason why we need clean energy as soon as possible.” Yet another reason, of course, is climate change. For humans, and also for birds. Audubon estimates that in North America alone, 389 bird species could go extinct if humanity doesn’t get its act together — including dozens found in Orange County.

North Korea says it fired antiaircraft missile, fourth recent test

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-10-01/n-korea-says-it-fired-anti-aircraft-missile-4th-recent-test

North Korea said Friday that it had test-fired a new antiaircraft missile a day earlier, the fourth weapons launch in recent weeks that experts say is part of a strategy to win relief from sanctions and other concessions. South Korea, Japan and the United States typically publicly confirm North Korean ballistic missile launches, which are banned by U.N. resolutions, soon after they occur. But they did not do so for Thursday’s launch, indicating the weapon tested may have been a different kind. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities monitored moves by North Korea but didn’t elaborate. Three weeks ago, North Korea resumed missile tests after a six-month lull. As it has sometimes done before, the North combined the show of force with a more conciliatory gesture, offering this week to reactivate hotlines that North and South Korea use to set up meetings, arrange border crossings and avoid accidental clashes. Diplomacy aimed at getting the North to abandon its nuclear arsenal in return for economic and political rewards has largely been deadlocked since early 2019. That has left North Korea under crippling U.S.-led economic sanctions, at a time when its fragile economy is suffering massive setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic. The North’s latest moves appear aimed at pressuring South Korea, which wants to improve strained ties on the peninsula, to persuade the U.S. to relax the sanctions. On Friday, the Korean Central News Agency said the antiaircraft missile test was “of very practical significance in studying and developing various prospective antiaircraft missile systems.” Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the launch appears to be the primitive stage of a test to develop a missile designed to shoot down incoming enemy missiles and aircraft. He said the missile resembles the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, which he said has a maximum range of 250 miles and is reportedly capable of intercepting stealth jets. The U.N. Security Council received a briefing on the recent launches and the humanitarian and COVID-19 situations in North Korea at an emergency closed-door meeting Friday but took no action. Diplomats said China and Russia made clear they didn’t want a news statement expressing concern over the launches, which was suggested by France. While the United States, Britain, France and other council members raised the risks of the weapons tests, China raised the danger it said was posed to the region by the U.S. and United Nations deal to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were private. This week, in his government’s latest mixed signal, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his willingness to restore the communication hotlines with South Korea in the coming days, but he also shrugged off U.S. offers for dialogue as a “cunning” concealment of its hostility against the North. He also insisted that South Korea abandon its “double-dealing attitude” if it wants to see an improvement in Korean relations. His comments largely echoed demands from his powerful sister, who has taken the lead in the North’s ongoing pressure campaign. South Korea has said it would prepare for the restoration of the cross-border phone and fax lines, which have been largely dormant for more than a year. But as of Friday afternoon, North Korea remained unresponsive to South Korea’s attempt to exchange messages through the channels, according to Seoul’s Unifications Ministry. During the Armed Forces Day ceremony Friday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed to repel any attempt to threaten his people’s lives and said he would strive to achieve lasting peace. But he didn’t mention North Korea’s recent tests, in a possible effort to keep alive the possibility of talks between the Koreas. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that U.S. officials were still assessing the most recent missile launch. She added that Biden administration officials have made efforts to reach out to the North Koreans to spur talks but have not received a response. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told reporters Thursday that Washington “certainly supports” inter-Korean dialogue in principle. But he said the U.S. was concerned about North Korea’s recent launches, which he noted were in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and created “greater prospects for instability and insecurity.” U.N. resolutions ban any ballistic activity by North Korea. Among the weapons North Korea tested in September were a new hypersonic missile, a newly developed cruise missile and a ballistic missile launched from a train. South Korea’s military assessed the hypersonic missile to be at an early stage of development, but experts say the other weapons launched displayed the North’s ability to attack targets in South Korea and Japan, key U.S. allies that host American troops. This week, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said its commitment to the defense of South Korea and Japan “remains ironclad.” North Korea has not tested a long-range missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland for about four years — what experts see as an indication it is carefully calibrating its provocations to keep alive its chances for diplomacy.

Immigration activists block Golden Gate Bridge during morning rush hour

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-09-30/protesters-block-golden-gate-bridge-during-morning-rush

A convoy of demonstrators blocked northbound lanes of the Golden Gate Bridge early Thursday. Protesters stopped their vehicles below the south tower of the bridge, KRON-TV reported, backing up traffic across the iconic San Francisco bridge. Southbound traffic initially flowed freely but then was stopped at the north end of the bridge. It later resumed at a slow rate. A news release from the organizers said demonstrators were “demanding Senate Democrats take immediate action to protect all immigrant families.”

Tommy Kirk, the child star in 'Old Yeller,' has died at 79

https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-09-29/tommy-kirk-the-child-star-in-old-yeller-has-died-at-79

Tommy Kirk, a child star who played in Disney films such as “Old Yeller” and “The Shaggy Dog,” has died. He was 79. Kirk’s longtime friend and former child star, Paul Petersen, said he was found dead in his Las Vegas home on Tuesday. The cause of death has not been released. Petersen said Kirk lived a private life as a gay man and was estranged from what “remains of his blood family.” “He was very much a part of our kid star community,” Peterson said. “He made some wonderful films back in the day. We saw and enjoyed them. He was respected in his church. He lived a quiet, but full life.” Kirk started his career with several television shows including the Mickey Mouse Club’s serialized adventure “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure” and “The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Ghost Farm,” which aired in 1956-1957. His big break came when he starred as Travis Coates in the 1957 film “Old Yeller,” a story about a teenage boy and his heroic yellow dog. In “The Shaggy Dog,” Kirk portrayed a teenage boy who was cursed with occasionally turning into a sheepdog. He played the middle son alongside James MacArthur and Kevin Corcoran — who played his brothers — in the 1960 film “Swiss Family Robinson.” Kirk played in a slew of other films in the 1960s including “The Absent-Minded Professor” and its sequel “Son of Flubber.” He also starred in “The Misadventures of Merlin Jones.” In 1973, Kirk publicly came out as gay during an interview. The actor opened up 20 years later that he realized he was gay at age 17 or 18 and that his career was destroyed by his sexual orientation. Kirk made some appearance in the 1990s and 2000s in films such as “Billy Frankenstein” and “The Education of a Vampire,” his final film.

Column: Chinatown's swap meets and what defines a neighborhood

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-09-25/chinatowns-swap-meets

When I think of Chinatown, my mind goes to the swap meets, and muffled music from a half-dozen portable radios, TVs and smartphones starts to play in my head. If you listen closely, you can make out the tinny chatter of Vietnamese and Cambodian variety shows, Cantonese pop songs from the ’80s and Mandarin-language newscasts in the swap meet’s eerie, still air. It’s a fitting soundtrack to Chinatown’s many immigrant diasporas, oddly forlorn and nostalgic. The swap meets, which contain the majority of Chinatown’s businesses, are facing redevelopment. They have for decades attracted immigrants from all over the Southland with a commodity that translates in any language: bargain-basement deals on clothing, home goods, luggage, toys, gifts and anything else that fits in a shipping container. Once spanning an entire block, Chinatown’s swap meets have been drastically reduced since I wrote about them four years ago. The model weapon vendor I bought a “The Last Samurai” replica sword from for $20 is gone, but his inventory remains, having effected a bizarre merger with that of a neighboring toy shop. There are no longer fidget spinners at every store — evil eye charms, keychains and ornaments seem to be the current trend. The lady who proudly modeled her silk dresses in the video we filmed to go with the story is gone too, replaced by a woman who smiles much less. A Taiwanese clothing vendor who once ran two shops has been relegated to a single store. Time and the pandemic have left the swap meet’s hallways pockmarked with shuttered businesses; nearly half the vendors are gone. A few months ago, Redcar Properties bought more property in the swap meets, and though no one has been issued an eviction notice, vendors there say they have little hope that they’ll be able to remain. The real estate development firm previously purchased and transformed the neighboring swap meet, the Shops, into an architectural office space. The possible redevelopment of the swap meets, which once contained the majority of Chinatown’s businesses, prompts philosophical questions about Chinatown. What is a neighborhood, really? What are its components or vital organs? Where is its heart, brain, lungs? Is it people, places, buildings, businesses, land, all of that, some of that? Is it something more dogmatic, like an official city designation marked on planning maps, a signpost, an additional line in your address? Or is it amorphous, like an identity or an idea? The reason I ask is because all of these changes point to a bigger question about Chinatown: How do you know when it’s gone? In the next few years, the affordable housing covenants that allow the area’s seniors to pay below-market rent will expire, opening the door for redevelopment and a dramatic decline in the area’s ethnic Chinese population. Between 1990 and 2020, the area’s Asian population fell from 68% to 54%, while the area’s white population rose from 1% to 10%, according to census data. It’s widely known that the owners of Chinatown’s remaining swap meets are looking to sell their property. Chinatown’s last full-service grocery store, Ai Hoa, closed two years ago after Redcar assumed ownership, and its last hospital in 2017. And across Chinatown, low-income residents are fighting to stay in their homes as developers raise rents, issue evictions notices and seek to redevelop. The land beneath Chinatown has grown too profitable for Chinatown’s community to exist on top of it. And the story of Los Angeles’ Chinatown isn’t unique, unfortunately. I’ve been going to Chinatowns all my life, and over the last few years I’ve made a habit of visiting Chinatowns everywhere I go. Something in me is thrilled by the discovery that no matter if I’m in Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia or Detroit, I can still spot the hallmarks of diaspora: a Chinese bank-sponsored glossy calendar on the wall, the gilded storefront of a benevolent association, or a familiar Chinese newspaper. It’s like a piece of home that follows me around the world. In Kolkata’s Chinatown, I encountered a community of leather tanners and restaurateurs and Chinese people who spoke Bengali and English but no Mandarin. There were no gift shops or swap meets — only tanneries, temples and restaurants. The restaurants served a chop suey drowning in gravy and spiced like curry. I toured the local Chinese school, which was built six stories high with a temple at the top, but the student body has declined so much that the ambitious development now goes largely unused. In Vancouver, Canada, I found a deserted Chinatown existing mostly in historical signposts and placards. In Yokohama, Japan, there was a Chinatown mostly existing as a tourist destination, where the baozi came shrink-wrapped in six packs and the dim sum format was all you can eat, ordered through iPads rather than carts. Yokohama’s Chinatown was also on the decline, and the same goes for every Chinatown I’ve ever visited. But each Chinatown has also been a powerful example of resilience. It is a home away from home, for people who were forced from their homes. And the commonalities I encounter in Chinatowns are powerful reminders of how all immigrants are connected by their struggle to find and create a home. No place in Chinatown to me embodies that better than the swap meets, where homeland resentments and language barriers are shrugged aside in order to conduct the business of survival. Chinatown leaders may complain about their dilapidated condition and the trash the swap meets create, but they are one of the few remaining places where immigrant entrepreneurs can shoulder the cost of running their own business. Long Ta, a Chinatown jeweler I’ve grown familiar with over the years, built his business in the swap meets when he was in his twenties and now owns various properties nearby. He thinks the Chinatown will be around for at least another 30 years. I found his estimate highly optimistic, but as one of the last Asian land owners on his block, he probably knows better than I do. “With change, there’s always good and bad. We want to maintain our culture, but we also want to move forward,” Ta said.

Britney Spears court filing says conservatorship should end

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-09-22/britney-spears-court-filing-says-conservatorship-should-end

Britney Spears said in a court filing Wednesday that she agrees with her father that the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money since 2008 should be terminated. The filing in Los Angeles Superior Court from Spears’ attorney Mathew Rosengart says she “fully consents” to “expeditiously” ending the conservatorship, which her father James Spears, who has controlled it for most of its 13 years, asked for in a Sept. 7 petition. It’s the first time Britney Spears has called for an end to the arrangement in court documents, though she has called for its termination in hearings. Her filing emphasizes, however, that it is more important to her that her father be removed, calling it “a necessary first — and substantial — step towards Ms. Spears’s freedom and ending the Kafkaesque nightmare imposed upon her by her father, so that her dignity and basic liberties can be restored.” Music Weeks after Jamie Spears defended his role as Britney Spears’ conservator, he’s now asking to dismantle everything. Her lawyer calls it a ‘massive’ win. Sept. 8, 2021 It is urgent that James Spears be suspended from his role of conservator of Britney Spears’ finances by Sept. 29, the next hearing date in the case, the filing says. “Mr. Spears cannot be permitted to hold a position of control over his daughter for another day,” the document says. The documents also reveal that Britney Spears is in the process of putting together a pre-nuptial agreement after getting engaged to her longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari earlier this month. That process will mean the intensive involvement of the conservator of her money, a role her father can’t be permitted to play, the filing says. The flurry of major filings means that next week’s hearing could be pivotal. Judge Brenda Penny, who has remained largely neutral in her oversight of the case, will be pressed to decide whether to remove James Spears or to put the conservatorship on a path to termination. James Spears stepped aside as conservator of his daughter’s person in 2019, maintaining only his role as conservator of her money. He and his attorneys have said that renders many of his daughter’s complaints about his control meaningless. Jodi Montgomery, a court-appointed professional, now acts as conservator of Britney Spears’ person. Wednesday’s filing from Britney Spears says Montgomery also consents to ending the conservatorship, Movies The director behind a secret Netflix project about Britney Spears talks about the pop star’s conservatorship ahead of her film’s Sept. 28 debut. Sept. 22, 2021 Spears had said in a dramatic June 23 speech in court that gave a jolt to the case and galvanized support for her that she was being compelled under the conservatorship to take certain medications and to use an intrauterine device for birth control against her will. James Spears has denied acting in anything but his daughter’s best interest, and has declined demands that he resign immediately, though he said in court documents that he does have a plan to eventually step down. But in a major reversal and possibly strategic move, he said in his Sept. 7 filing that if she “wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes that she should get that chance.” Rosengart has sought to keep the focus on James Spears removal since his hiring in July, and says he will pursue an investigation of his handling of the conservatorship even after any removal. The conservatorship was established in 2008 when Britney Spears’ began to have very public mental struggles as media outlets obsessed over each moment, hordes of paparazzi aggressively followed her everywhere, and she lost custody of her children.

'Sex and the City' actor Willie Garson dies at 57

https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-09-21/sex-and-the-city-actor-willie-garson-dies-at-57

Willie Garson, who played Stanford Blatch, Carrie Bradshaw’s friend on TV’s “Sex and the City” and its movie sequels, has died, his son announced Tuesday. He was 57. “I love you so much papa. Rest In Peace and I’m so glad you got to share all your adventures with me and were able to accomplish so much,” Nathen Garson wrote on Instagram. “I’m so proud of you.” “You always were the toughest and funniest and smartest person I’ve known,” his son added. No details of his death were released. Messages seeking comment from his representatives weren’t immediately returned. Garson portrayed Blatch, a talent agent and the devoted and stylish best male friend to Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie for six seasons. He reprised the role in the films “Sex and the City” and “Sex and the City 2,” and had been filming an upcoming series revival for HBO Max called “And Just Like That.” Cynthia Nixon, who played Miranda Hobbes in the series, expressed her sorrow in a tweet. “We all loved him and adored working with him. He was endlessly funny on-screen and and in real life,” she wrote. “He was a source of light, friendship and show business lore. He was a consummate professional — always.” “I couldn’t have had a more brilliant TV partner,” tweeted Mario Cantone, who played Garson’s husband in “Sex and the City.” “I’m devastated and just overwhelmed with sadness.” He added: “You were a gift from the gods.” “Willie Garson was in life, as on screen, a devoted friend and a bright light for everyone in his universe. He created one of the most beloved characters from the HBO pantheon and was a member of our family for nearly 25 years,” an HBO Facebook statement said. “We are deeply saddened to learn of his passing and extend our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.” Born William Garson Paszamant in Highland Park, N.J., Garson began studying acting at age 13 at the Actors Institute in New York. He made hundreds of appearances on TV and in motion pictures. Besides “Sex and the City,” he was perhaps best known as Mozzie, a con man on the TV show “”White Collar,” and also had recurring roles on “NYPD Blue,” “Hawaii Five-0” and “Supergirl.” Garson, who was an advocate for adoption agencies, adopted his son, Nathen, in 2009 and marked the adoption in a January Instagram posting that read: “Best day of my life. Always.”

Biden easing foreign travel restrictions, will require vaccines

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-09-20/biden-easing-foreign-travel-restrictions-will-require-vaccines

In a major easing of pandemic travel restrictions, the U.S. said Monday it will allow foreigners to fly into the country this fall if they have vaccination proof and a negative coronavirus test — changes replacing a hodgepodge of rules that had kept out many non-citizens and irritated allies in Europe and beyond where virus cases are lower. The changes, to take effect in November, will allow families and others who have been separated by the travel restrictions for 18 months to plan for long-awaited reunifications and allow foreigners with work permits to get back to their jobs in the U.S. Airlines, business groups and travelers cheered — though also calling the step long overdue. “It’s a happy day. Big Apple, here I come!” said French entrepreneur Stephane Le Breton, 45, finally able to book a trip to New York City that had been put on hold over the virus restrictions. The new policy will replace a patchwork of travel bans first instituted by President Trump last year and tightened by President Biden that restrict travel by non-citizens who have in the prior 14 days been in the United Kingdom, European Union, China, India, Iran, Brazil or South Africa. White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients announced the new policies, which still will require all foreign travelers flying to the U.S. to demonstrate proof of vaccination before boarding, as well as proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within three days of flight. Biden will also tighten testing rules for unvaccinated American citizens, who will need to be tested within a day before returning to the U.S., as well as after they arrive home. The tougher rules for unvaccinated Americans come as the White House has moved to impose sweeping vaccination-or-testing requirements affecting as many as 100 million people in an effort to encourage holdouts to get shots. Fully vaccinated passengers will not be required to quarantine, Zients said. There will be no immediate change to U.S. land border policies, which restrict much cross-border travel with Mexico and Canada. Science & Medicine Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11. Sept. 20, 2021 The travel bans had become the source of growing geopolitical frustration, particularly among allies in the U.K. and EU. The easing comes ahead of Biden meeting with some European leaders on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly this week. “This is based on individuals rather than a country-based approach, so it’s a stronger system,” Zients said. The EU and U.K. had previously moved to allow vaccinated U.S. travelers in without quarantines, in an effort to boost business and tourism. But the EU recommended last month that some travel restrictions be reimposed on U.S. travelers to the bloc because of the rampant spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus in America. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will require airlines to collect contact information from international travelers to facilitate tracing, Zients said. It was not immediately clear which vaccines would be acceptable under the U.S. system and whether those unapproved in the U.S. could be used. Zients said that decision would be up to the CDC. Monday’s announcement was met with applause by the air travel industry, which has lost significant revenue from declines in international travel. Delta Air Lines spokesman Morgan Durrant said, “Science tells us that vaccinations coupled with testing is the safest way to reopen travel, and we are optimistic this important decision will allow for the continued economic recovery both in the U.S. and abroad and the reunification of families who have been separated for more than 18 months.” Worldwide, air travel is still down more than half from pre-pandemic levels, and the decline is much sharper for cross-border flying. By July, domestic travel had recovered to 84% of 2019 numbers, but international travel was just 26% of the same month two years ago, according to figures this month from the airline industry’s main global trade group, the International Air Transport Assn. The numbers are similar but not quite as stark for the U.S., where international travel in August was 46% of that in August 2019, according to Airlines for America. Arrivals by non-U.S. citizens were only 36% of the 2019 level. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that he was “delighted” by the news. He said: “It’s a fantastic boost for business and trade, and great that family and friends on both sides of the pond can be reunited once again.” Airlines hailed the U.S. decision as a lifeline for the struggling industry. Tim Alderslade, chief executive of industry body Airlines U.K. said it was “a major breakthrough.” Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said it was “a major milestone. ... The U.K. will now be able to strengthen ties with our most important economic partner, the U.S., boosting trade and tourism as well as reuniting friends, families and business colleagues.” “The travel bans were really behind the times,” said Maka Hutson, counsel specializing in immigration issues at the law firm Akin Gump. She said they were very frustrating to European executives who’d been vaccinated but still couldn’t fly to the United States to conduct business. The changes also drew praise from business groups, who have been contending with labor shortages as the economy bounces back with unexpected strength from last year’s coronavirus recession. U.S. employers have been posting job openings — a record 10.9 million in July — faster than applicants can fill them. Myron Brilliant, head of international affairs for the U..S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement, “Allowing vaccinated foreign nationals to travel freely to the United States will help foster a robust and durable recovery for the American economy.”

After camera found in girls bathroom at Rancho Cucamonga school, ex-coach charged with child porn

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-09-09/rancho-cucamonga-coach-child-porn-camera-bathroom

A former assistant coach at a San Bernardino County high school has been charged with child pornography after school officials discovered a hidden camera in a girls restroom. David Riden, 52, was arrested by San Bernardino County sheriff’s detectives on Aug. 25 after investigators determined he had placed the camera at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga. Detectives searched Riden’s Rancho Cucamonga home and vehicle and seized multiple digital media devices, authorities said. The hidden camera, which was discovered by another school staff member, looked like a cellphone charger that had been plugged into a bathroom wall, attorneys for some students said. But the gadget was actually recording images in the locker room and near the pool of female students, including members of the girls water polo team. Authorities say club teams and even community pool users could have been filmed. Riden had worked at the school for six years as an assistant football coach and boys locker room attendant before the investigation. He resigned Aug. 24, the day before his arrest. In a court appearance last week, he pleaded not guilty to charges of felony possession of child pornography and two felony counts of using a minor for sex acts. Attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing several families who may have been recorded, said there could be “hundreds of young women on the video.” “At this point, there are more questions than answers,” Allred said during a news conference Wednesday. California A LAPD officer was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of possessing child pornography and distributing obscene images of a minor, Long Beach police said. May 5, 2021 One parent who appeared alongside Allred, identified only as Stefani, said her 17-year-old daughter is nervous all the time and anxious since the discovery of the camera. She said her daughter, a senior at Los Osos High, and other female students fear the worst: that naked images of them are floating around cyberspace. “It’s this waiting game — waiting for a phone call, a notification — and the terror that these videos are out there,” the woman said. Sheriff’s detectives are continuing to examine the devices taken from Riden’s home, and San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson said additional charges are expected. Allred said it’s possible the camera had been placed in other locations before it was found in the girls bathroom last month. Since the discovery, Stefani said it’s been extremely difficult for her daughter and her friends. Some male students at the school have been taunting their female classmates, Allred said. “One boy is reported to have stood up in class and openly chanted, ‘Free Riden,’ with no apparent consequences,” the attorney said. “Some members of the football team asked the victims why they were so upset, saying, ‘It’s just some free booty pictures.’ ” Business Apple Inc. is racing to contain a controversy after an attempt to combat child pornography sparked fears that customers will lose privacy in a place that’s become sacrosanct: their devices. Aug. 13, 2021 The Chaffey Joint Union High School District, of which Los Osos High is a part, called the discovery of the camera and Riden’s arrest a “troubling situation” that “deeply disturbed all of us.” District officials on Wednesday said they have implemented a variety of measures in the wake of the incident, including providing enhanced training for all campus officers, custodians, locker room attendants and other staff; rekeying and limiting access to all changing areas at the school; and investigating any reports of inappropriate comments or posts regarding the incident. The school plans to have counselors and therapists on campus, and the district attorney’s Bureau of Victim Services also is providing mental health resources, including victim advocates.

Coronavirus cases lead to missed school days for 6,500 LAUSD students during first week

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-24/coronavirus-cases-force-6500-lausd-students-miss-school

Coronavirus cases resulted in 6,500 students missing one or more days during the first week of school in the Los Angeles Unified School District as officials responded to early results from the largest school-based coronavirus testing effort in the nation. About 3,000 students were in isolation because they tested positive for an infection either during the first week or in the days before the Aug. 16 start of classes. An additional 3,500 were in quarantine after they were identified as close contacts of those who tested positive. About 451,000 preschool through 12th-grade students are attending Los Angeles public schools in person this fall. More than 10,000 others are attending classes online through an independent study option. Among some 60,000 employees tested, about 1,000 missed at least one day of work because of an infection or because they were in close contact with an infected person. L.A. Unified officials say they know of no cases that were transmitted from one person to another while on a campus since the start of school, although some parents have questioned that claim. As of Tuesday, the Los Angeles County health department did not have any L.A. Unified campus on its list of schools with potential outbreaks. The district released the data in response to a request from The Times and as part of a presentation Tuesday to the Board of Education. During the presentation, senior administrators acknowledged serious issues that the district is trying to resolve. Both parents and principals have reported lagging test results that led to children and staff with infections returning to campuses, putting others at potential risk. The district aims to have tests processed overnight, but “on time” per the district could still mean 48 hours from the time of the test, which could stretch over three days for a test taken in the afternoon. Officials have emphasized that the coronavirus tests represent just one layer of protection and that other safety measures — including mandatory masks indoors and outdoors, improved air filters and hand-washing — should still provide strong protection even when a test result does not return overnight. Other parents have had issues with getting their children back on campus as soon as they are eligible because of difficulty scheduling test appointments or reaching the district community engagement team, which must approve a return to campus. Some phone messages to the main district line went to spam folders, Chief of Schools David Baca said. He also acknowledged issues with the online study option. A week after the original July 30 enrollment deadline, applications continued to pour in, doubling to more than 10,000 students. “Some students ... are not seeing live daily instruction yet,” said Baca, who offered his email address as an initial point of contact for them: david.baca@lausd.net. And 3,000 more students are waiting to be processed in. “Each day it gets better,” Baca said. “Each week, we’ll get better, and we’ll keep working until we get it right.” The vast majority of students, about 97%, are back for in-person classes, although some were soon sent home. Overall, about 1 in 70 students had to enter isolation or quarantine. The district also released numbers on student and staff who tested positive during the first week of school, cases identified as part of the district’s mandatory weekly testing program. Beginning the week of Aug. 16, about 2,000 students and 200 district employees tested positive. The figures were updated Monday and are higher than numbers that were reported in the first iteration of a database created by the outside group Parents Supporting Teachers, which initially used data from Sunday. During the first week of school, about 6 in 1,000 students and about 4 in 1,000 employees tested positive for the coronavirus. These rates are lower than from “baseline” testing conducted Aug. 2-15 and could indicate a leveling off of the Delta variant in the communities served by L.A. Unified. Earlier district testing had shown a steady rise in infection rates over the course of the summer, from about 1 in 1,000 students to about 8 in 1,000 students by early to mid-August. Some campuses dealt with no or few cases, but the effect was concentrated in other areas. Overland Elementary School on the Westside, for example, had six cases and sent home four entire classrooms, according to emails sent to parents. Overland parent Alexis Rochlin has no beef with either her first-grader’s teacher or principal but feels buffeted by changing and conflicting news from the school about the extent of infections and what would happen next. She also was unable to reach the district’s community engagement team. Her child’s class ended up being sent home. Initially, the teacher planned to keep live instruction going via Zoom, with the principal’s blessing, but the principal later told parents in an email that she had erred in authorizing the online fallback. Officials, during the school board meeting, clarified that teachers, if they wished, would be allowed to switch to Zoom if an entire class was quarantined or to simulcast for individual students at home. Board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin said schools were challenged both by quarantines and ongoing staff vacancies at the 183 schools in her district, which runs from South L.A. to the Harbor area. “We have more requests for subs than can be filled — 542 yesterday, 481 Friday — so teachers are asked to cover during their conference periods and even administrators are covering classes,” Franklin wrote in an email. “It’s really hard, and school staff are doing the best they can.” A person is supposed to be in “isolation” at home if experiencing symptoms of illness or after testing positive. A person quarantines at home after close contact with someone who tested positive. L.A. Unified revised its rules Monday to enable more students to avoid quarantine. Administrators had been sending home all close contacts of an infected person. Under the new policy, vaccinated students who are close contacts do not have to quarantine unless they develop symptoms, although district officials on Tuesday said people still need to be tested five days after exposure. The district’s new policy aligns with that of L.A. County. “I’m glad to see this districtwide update that differentiates procedures for vaccinated versus unvaccinated members of our school communities,” said school board member Nick Melvoin. The district’s policies should “follow the science and align with public health guidance.” A close contact is any person who was within six feet of a person with a coronavirus infection for at least 15 minutes within a 24-hour period. The stay-home rules affected many people even if they tested positive before the start of school. That’s because an isolation period, for example, extends for at least 10 days. Officials also released attendance rates for the first week of school. On the first day, about 84% of those expected were in class for the in-person program. That figure is lower than normal, but it could have been worse: About 1 in 5 students had not taken a required coronavirus test in advance. The district managed to get many of those students quickly tested and into their classes on the same day. The attendance rate gradually rose through the week to a high of about 88% on Thursday before dipping Friday.

This week's high school football schedule

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-08-23/high-school-football-schedule

This week’s high school football schedule: Wednesday SOUTHERN SECTION NONLEAGUE Bolsa Grande vs. La Sierra at Norte Vista, 7 p.m. Thursday SOUTHERN SECTION NONLEAGUE Adelanto at Serrano, 7 p.m. Artesia at Garden Grove, 7 p.m. Bellflower vs. Beckman at Tustin, 7 p.m. Claremont at Norte Vista, 7 p.m. Dominguez vs. Santa Fe at Pioneer, 7 p.m. Etiwanda vs. South Hills at Covina District Field (Covina), 7 p.m. Ganesha vs. Azusa at Citrus College, 7 p.m. Glendale at La Canada, 7 p.m. Huntington Beach at Western, 7 p.m. Keppel at Temple City, 7 p.m. La Mirada at Chaffey, 7 p.m. La Puente at Hacienda Heights Wilson, 7 p.m. Linfield Christian vs. Garden Grove Pacifica at Bolsa Grande, 7 p.m. Long Beach Jordan at Riverside North, 7 p.m. Loyola at Damien, 7 p.m. Magnolia at Irvine University, 7 p.m. Marina at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m. Mary Star vs. Alhambra at Moor Field (Alhambra), 7 p.m. Mission Viejo vs. Servite at Orange Coast College, 7:30 p.m. Montclair at Garey, 7 p.m. Palm Springs at Grand Terrace, 7 p.m. Rialto vs. Granite Hills at Apple Valley, 7 p.m. Santa Ana Calvary Chapel vs. Capistrano Valley Christian at Capistrano Valley, 7 p.m. Santa Margarita at Norco, 7 p.m. Shadow Hills at Citrus Hill, 7 p.m. Silverado at Yucaipa, 7 p.m. Temescal Canyon at Eisenhower, 7 p.m. Troy vs. Anaheim at Glover Stadium, 7 p.m. Vista del Lago at Valley View, 7 p.m. Villa Park vs. Orange at El Modena, 7 p.m. Walnut vs. Esperanza at Yorba Linda, 7 p.m. Warren vs. La Serna at California, 7 p.m. 8 MAN SOUTHERN SECTION MAJESTIC LEAGUE Hillcrest Christian at Cornerstone Christian, 7 p.m. INTERSECTIONAL Milken at Sotomayor, 7 p.m. Friday CITY NONLEAGUE Angelou at Roybal, 7 p.m. Bernstein at South Gate, 7 p.m. Cleveland at Grant, 7 p.m. Contreras at Rivera, 4:30 p.m. Dymally at Santee, 7 p.m. Fairfax at Sylmar, 7 p.m. Fremont at Legacy, 7 p.m. Gardena at Los Angeles University, 7 p.m. Garfield at Canoga Park, 7 p.m. Granada Hills Kennedy at Chavez, 7 p.m. Lincoln at Los Angeles Roosevelt, 7 p.m. Los Angeles at Maywood CES, 7 p.m. Los Angeles Hamilton at Manual Arts, 3 p.m. Marquez at South East, 7 p.m. New Designs Watts at Hawkins, 4:30 p.m. North Hollywood at Los Angeles Wilson, 7 p.m. Reseda vs. Dorsey at Rancho Cienega Park, 7 p.m. San Fernando at Palisades, 7 p.m. San Pedro at Eagle Rock, 7 p.m. Sun Valley Poly at Washington, 7 p.m. Taft at Van Nuys, 7 p.m. Verdugo Hills at Chatsworth, 7 p.m. View Park at Hollywood, 7 p.m. Westchester at Granada Hills, 7 p.m. SOUTHERN SECTION NONLEAGUE Alemany at St. John Bosco, 7 p.m. Aliso Niguel at San Gorgonio, 7 p.m. Alta Loma at Don Lugo, 7 p.m. Antelope Valley at Camarillo, 7 p.m. Anza Hamilton at Western Christian, 6:30 p.m. Ayala at Los Altos, 7 p.m. Baldwin Park at South El Monte, 7 p.m. Barstow at Sultana, 7 p.m. Bassett at Nogales, 7 p.m. Beaumont at Murrieta Mesa, 7 p.m. Bell Gardens at El Rancho, 7 p.m. Bloomington at Colton, 7 p.m. Bonita at Downey, 7 p.m. Brentwood at Salesian, 7 p.m. Buena vs. West Ranch at Valencia, 7 p.m. Buena Park vs. Woodbridge at Irvine University, 7 p.m. Burbank Burroughs vs. Santa Monica at Santa Monica College, 7 p.m. Cajon at Kaiser, 7 p.m. Cantwell-Sacred Heart at Santa Ana Valley, 7 p.m. Canyon Springs at Banning, 7 p.m. Carter at La Quinta, 7 p.m. Channel Islands at Hueneme, 7 p.m. Chaparral at Tesoro, 7 p.m. Chino Hills at Diamond Ranch, 7 p.m. Compton Centennial vs. Compton at Compton College, 7 p.m. Corona Santiago at Colony, 7 p.m. Crean Lutheran vs. Northwood at Irvine, 7 p.m. Crespi at Westlake, 7 p.m. Culver City at West Torrance, 7 p.m. Cypress at San Juan Hills, 7 p.m. Diamond Bar at Chino, 7 p.m. Dos Pueblos at Nordhoff, 7 p.m. Eastvale Roosevelt at Great Oak, 7 p.m. El Dorado vs. Fountain Valley at Ocean View, 7 p.m. El Modena vs. Santa Ana at Santa Ana Stadium, 7 p.m. El Segundo at Bishop Montgomery, 7 p.m. El Toro at California, 7 p.m. Fillmore at Santa Ynez, 7 p.m. Foothill at Tustin, 7 p.m. Garden Grove Santiago vs. Godinez at Santa Ana Valley, 7 p.m. Glendora vs. Covina at Covina District Field (Covina), 7 p.m. Glenn vs. Firebaugh at Lynwood, 7 p.m. Golden Valley vs. Burbank at Burbank Burroughs, 7 p.m. Hart at Muir, 7 p.m. Heritage Christian at Laguna Hills, 7 p.m. Hesperia at Victor Valley, 7 p.m. Highland at Oak Hills, 7 p.m. Indian Springs at Arroyo Valley, 7 p.m. Indio at Rancho Mirage, 7 p.m. Irvine vs. Anaheim Canyon at El Modena, 7 p.m. Jurupa Valley at Desert Hot Springs, 7 p.m. Katella at Trabuco Hills, 7 p.m. La Habra at Bishop Amat, 7 p.m. La Salle vs. La Palma Kennedy at Western, 7 p.m. Laguna Beach at Dana Hills, 7 p.m. Lakeside at Hemet, 7 p.m. Lakewood at Peninsula, 3 p.m. Leuzinger at Calabasas, 7 p.m. Littlerock at Rim of the World, 7 p.m. Loara at Estancia, 7 p.m. Long Beach Poly at Gardena Serra, 7 p.m. Lynwood at Hoover, 5 p.m. Maranatha at Beverly Hills, 7 p.m. Miller at Jurupa Hills, 7 p.m. Mira Costa at St. Francis, 7 p.m. Monrovia at Arcadia, 7 p.m. Moreno Valley at Knight, 7 p.m. Mountain View vs. Workman at La Puente, 7 p.m. Newbury Park vs. Crescenta Valley at Glendale HS, 7 p.m. North Torrance at Gahr, 7 p.m. Northview at Charter Oak, 7 p.m. Nuview Bridge at Bermuda Dunes Desert Christian, 7 p.m. Oak Park at Santa Paula, 7 p.m. Ocean View vs. Los Amigos at Garden Grove, 7 p.m. Ontario at West Covina, 7 p.m. Orange Vista at Redlands, 7 p.m. Oxnard vs. Bishop Diego at Santa Barbara CC, 7 p.m. Palmdale at Ridgecrest Burroughs, 7 p.m. Paloma Valley at Murrieta Valley, 7 p.m. Paramount vs. Corona del Mar at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m. Pasadena Poly vs. Rio Hondo Prep at Kare Park (Irwindale), 7 p.m. Placentia Valencia at Yorba Linda, 7 p.m. Pomona at Pioneer, 7 p.m. Ramona at King, 7 p.m. Rancho Alamitos vs. Savanna at Glover Stadium, 7 p.m. Rancho Cucamonga at Apple Valley, 7 p.m. Rancho Verde at Citrus Valley, 7 p.m. Redlands East Valley at Los Osos, 7 p.m. Redondo at Simi Valley, 7 p.m. Riverside Notre Dame vs. Hillcrest at Norte Vista, 7 p.m. Riverside Poly vs. Arlington at Ramona, 7 p.m. Royal at Rio Mesa, 7 p.m. Rubidoux vs. Patriot at Jurupa Valley, 7 p.m. Saddleback at Century, 7 p.m. San Dimas at Montebello, 7 p.m. San Gabriel at Gabrielino, 7 p.m. San Marino vs. Village Christian at Burbank, 7 p.m. Santa Barbara at Thousand Oaks, 7 p.m. Santa Rosa Academy at Cerritos Valley Christian, 7 p.m. Saugus at Moorpark, 7 p.m. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at JSerra, 7 p.m. Sierra Canyon at Oaks Christian, 7 p.m. Sierra Vista at Arroyo, 7 p.m. South Torrance at Schurr, 7 p.m. St. Anthony vs. Mayfair at Bellflower, 7 p.m. St. Bonaventure at Oxnard Pacifica, 7 p.m. St. Genevieve at Canyon Country Canyon, 7 p.m. Sunny Hills at Capistrano Valley, 7 p.m. Temecula Valley at Elsinore, 7 p.m. Torrance at Hawthorne, 7 p.m. Upland vs. Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College, 7 p.m. Valencia at Quartz Hill, 7 p.m. Ventura at Agoura, 7 p.m. Verbum Dei vs. Morningside at Coleman Stadium (Inglewood), 7 p.m. Vista Murrieta at Heritage, 7 p.m. Webb at Gladstone, 3:30 p.m. West Valley at Cathedral City, 7 p.m. Westminster vs. Westminster La Quinta at Bolsa Grande, 7 p.m. Whittier at Fullerton, 7 p.m. Xavier Prep at Ontario Christian, 7 p.m. Yucca Valley at Lancaster, 7 p.m. INTERSECTIONAL Bell at Norwalk, 7 p.m. Birmingham at Chaminade, 7 p.m. Blythe Palo Verde Valley at Coachella Valley, 7 p.m. California Military Institute at Carlsbad Army-Navy, 7 p.m. Campbell Hall at Arleta, 3:30 p.m. Carpinteria at Morro Bay, 7 p.m. Carson vs. Inglewood at Coleman Stadium (Inglewood), 7 p.m. Cerritos at Wilmington Banning, 7 p.m. Desert Mirage at Calipatria, 7 p.m. El Cajon Christian at St. Margaret’s, 7 p.m. El Camino Real at Pasadena, 7 p.m. Fresno Clovis North vs. Edison at Huntington Beach, 7 p.m. Huntington Park at St. Paul, 7:30 p.m. Jefferson at Long Beach Cabrillo, 7 p.m. Lompoc at Santa Maria Righetti, 7 p.m. Mater Dei at Duncanville (Texas), 5 p.m. PT Millikan at Carlsbad, 7 p.m. Narbonne at Lawndale, 7 p.m. Nipomo vs. Lompoc Cabrillo at Lompoc, 7 p.m. Palm Desert at St. George (Utah) Dixie, 6 p.m. PT Palos Verdes at San Marcos Mission Hills, 7 p.m. Paraclete at Bakersfield Garces, 7:30 p.m. Rosemead at Franklin, 7 p.m. San Bernardino vs. El Cajon Foothills Christian at Seau Field (La Mesa), 7 p.m. San Clemente at San Diego Torrey Pines, 7:15 p.m. San Diego Cathedral at Corona Centennial, 7 p.m. San Diego Lincoln at Los Alamitos, 7 p.m. San Marcos at Santa Maria, 7 p.m. Venice at Harvard-Westlake, 7 p.m. Vista Tri-City Christian at Rancho Christian, 7 p.m. 8 MAN SOUTHERN SECTION NONLEAGUE San Jacinto Valley Academy at Sage Hill, 7 p.m. United Christian at Hesperia Christian, 7 p.m. INTERSECTIONAL California Lutheran at Warner Springs Warner, 3 p.m. Chula Vista Victory Christian at North Valley Military Institute, 3 p.m. Laton vs. Academy of Careers & Exploration at Helendale Community Park (Helendale), 7 p.m. Lebec Frazier Mountain at Lucerne Valley, 5 p.m. Sherman Oaks CES vs. Lancaster Desert Christian at Antelope Valley College, 7:30 p.m. USC Hybrid at Grace Brethren, 3:30 p.m. Saturday SOUTHERN SECTION NONLEAGUE Long Beach Wilson at San Jacinto, 7 p.m. Portola at Riverside Prep, 7:30 p.m. St. Monica at St. Pius X-St. Matthias, 7 p.m. Temecula Prep vs. Arrowhead Christian at Redlands, 6 p.m. Twentynine Palms vs. Big Bear at Big Bear MS, 1:30 p.m. Viewpoint at South Pasadena, 7 p.m. INTERSECTIONAL Mendez at Bosco Tech, 12 p.m. Silver Valley at Henderson (Nev.) Lake Mead Academy, 7 p.m. Vasquez at Edwards AFB Desert, 7 p.m. 8 MAN SOUTHERN SECTION NONLEAGUE Calvary Baptist vs. Downey Calvary Chapel at Downey, 3:30 p.m. Southlands Christian at La Verne Lutheran, 11 a.m. Windward at Leadership Military Academy, 1 p.m. INTERSECTIONAL Henderson (Nev.) Green Valley Christian at Rolling Hills Prep, 1 p.m. Orcutt Academy at Laguna Blanca, 1 p.m. Schedule compiled by Eric Maddy

Chuck Close, artist known for monumental grid portraits, dies at 81

https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-08-19/chuck-close-artist-of-monumental-grids-dies-at-81

Chuck Close, a painter, photographer and printmaker best known for his monumental grid portraits and photo-based paintings of family and famous friends, has died. He was 81. His attorney, John Silberman, said Close died Thursday at a hospital in Oceanside, N.Y. He did not give a cause of death. Close, whose professional highlights include a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1973, was known for using a grid structure for the representation of an image in nearly all of his works, which he said helped him break the face down into “incremental units.” Time-consuming and labor-intensive, his paintings dissected the human face of such luminaries as President Clinton, composer Philip Glass and the artist himself. His works have been displayed in museums, galleries and even the New York City subway. In 2017, Close faced accusations of sexual harassment from some women who said he made inappropriate comments when they had gone to his studio to potentially be models for him in previous years. Entertainment & Arts “I was never more worried about anything in my life than this,” said artist Chuck Close of “Head-On/The Modern Portrait,” an exhibition that he selected from the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. June 26, 1991 He told the New York Times that he had spoken to the women about their bodies as part of evaluating them as models, and apologized for causing any discomfort. Close, who had been diagnosed with dementia-related conditions in 2013, also had serious mobility issues after suffering a spinal artery collapse in 1988, requiring him to use a wheelchair. In Close’s work, the “pixilated” images “are filled with tiny abstract colored shapes, individual brushstrokes or even the artist’s fingerprints. When viewed from a distance, the individual marks miraculously resolve into a surprisingly realistic face,” the Akron Art Museum in Ohio said in describing Close’s paintings and prints for an exhibition titled “Familiar Faces: Chuck Close in Ohio Collections.” Born in Monroe, Wis., Close graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, and received a MFA from Yale University. Both of his marriages ended in divorce, and he is survived by two daughters.

Americans spent less in July as COVID-19 surged and Delta variant kept shoppers home

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-08-17/americans-spent-less-in-july-as-covid-19-cases-surged

Americans cut back on their spending last month as a surge in COVID-19 cases kept people away from stores. Retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in July from the previous month, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday. It was a much larger drop than the 0.3% decline Wall Street analysts had expected. The report offers the first solid glimpse of how the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus may have changed the spending habits of Americans. At the end of July, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began recommending that even vaccinated people start wearing masks indoors in public places. According to Tuesday’s report, spending fell at stores that sell clothing, furniture and sporting goods. At restaurants and bars, spending still rose nearly 2%, but the rate of growth has slowed from recent months before the Delta variant spread and people were feeling safer about dining without their masks with others. Economists think Americans are also shifting their spending from goods to services — such as haircuts and vacations — which are not included in Tuesday’s report. And rising prices for everything from food to washing machines may have checked spending. Major retailers are releasing quarterly financial results this week, offering more insight into behavior during yet another uptick in infections. On Tuesday, Walmart raised its sales outlook for the year, a sign it expects Americans to keep on shopping at the same pace. But the Commerce Department reported Tuesday that even online sales have begun to slow, falling 3.1% from the previous month. Companies have reported a slowdown after astronomical growth last year as people stayed home and shopped more online during the pandemic. EBay, for example, said its number of active shoppers slipped 2% to 159 million in its latest quarter. United Parcel Service said it’s shipping fewer packages in the U.S. And Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, said online sales grew 13% in its most recent quarter, the smallest quarterly growth in two years.

Opinion: Even after he was gone, our son gave us the gift of persistence

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-08-14/even-after-he-was-gone-our-son-gave-us-the-gift-of-persistence

Why was it so hard to give the city of Los Angeles a brand new athletic field for children to play on? My family had raised money to replace a decrepit field at Westwood Recreation Center and dedicate the new site to my 12-year-old son, Tommy, who went to sleep on Monday, April 16, 2018, and never woke up. We poured our grieving hearts into it, along with thousands of children and adults across our city, by raising $1.2 million. The new field was designed to conserve water, reduce maintenance costs and avoid harmful chemicals, but most importantly it was conceived to promote free play and host multiple sports, including the most popular and diverse youth team sport in our city: soccer. My son wanted to become a professional soccer player. For countless evenings, we watched him train with children who focused on how they played instead of their differing backgrounds and circumstances. I never could have anticipated how watching him play would inspire me in building his legacy. After we hit our fundraising goals and had drafted a gift agreement, city officials privately asked me, “Do you have the community’s support?” “Of course!” I responded. Children in the neighborhood had sold lemonade and asked for donations in lieu of birthday presents. Colleagues hosted public fundraising events that sold thousands of tickets. Friends and family, joined by compassionate Angelenos who were complete strangers, made donations. Local businesses and schools supported it, along with nonprofit groups desperate for more places for kids to play. “This has been a true community effort,” I assured them. At the first city hearings, however, some neighbors living on one side of the park claimed that this recreation center was their backyard. They did not want more children, more whistles or more “outsiders.” Some local activists serving on neighborhood councils were quick to support them. Detractors used various online platforms, including a well-known neighborhood site marketed to “bring communities together,” to criticize my family and spread falsehoods about the field, suggesting that the field would be caged, despite it having no lock or fence. That it would be privatized, despite knowing it would be fully managed by the city. Critics did not trust our intentions. They were suspicious of local government. They were resistant to change. My husband and I are second-generation Angelenos living in the neighborhood, but some did not consider us, or “those people” who play soccer, part of their community. It all felt so personal until I learned in public meetings that some of the opponents also resist bike lanes, transit stations — virtually anything that brings change. My husband and I supported multiple design revisions to try to reach a consensus. Our efforts were only rejected by the opponents. We endured no less than 11 contentious community meetings spanning eight disheartening months. So much anger. So much divisiveness. All over an athletic field in a park dedicated to a 12-year-old who loved sports. When the opponents’ reasons against the field kept changing, I reflected on all the times I had watched Tommy play soccer and began to apply what I had learned. Tired of being on defense, I changed my offense. They raised their voices; I cut through the noise and asserted mine. They attacked with obscure city codes; I played simple and direct. They threatened with lawsuits and relied on bureaucracy to wear me out; I thought of Tommy and kept pressing forward. We didn’t reach our goal because we wielded the cleverest argument or legal maneuver, but because we were motivated by love and refused to give up. After nearly two years, our gift was finally approved by the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners. When Tommy’s Field opens in September, I will celebrate as my son did after scoring goals and winning matches. I will hug my teammates and cheer with our fans. I will also turn to our opponents and shake hands. For, after all, they are our neighbors. I hope to see their children and grandchildren enjoy Tommy’s Field, because it is theirs too. Nikki Mark is founder and president of the TM23 Foundation, which supports youth initiatives.

Southwest says Delta variant weighing on business as trip cancellations rise

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-08-11/delta-spreads-southwest-no-longer-sees-profit-for-quarter

The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has darkened the outlook for Southwest Airlines, one of the largest carriers in the U.S., which says that it no longer expects to turn a profit in the third quarter as infections spread. The revelation, contained in a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, comes just three weeks after Southwest CEO Gary Kelly called the airline’s most recent quarter a “milestone” after turning a profit in June without government assistance. The airline said Wednesday that it was again profitable in July but believed the recent negative effects of the pandemic on August and September revenue would make profitability less likely in the third quarter if the benefits of temporary, tax-funded salaries and wages relief were excluded. The problems are appearing in what are called close-in bookings and close-in trip cancellations, trips people schedule several weeks out. The first are falling, and the second have risen in recent weeks, Southwest said, and it tied those trends to the rise in coronavirus cases. Southwest said last month that it hoped to be profitable in the third and fourth quarters even excluding federal pandemic aid, but the spreading Delta variant had already clouded that outlook. It warned at the time that rising infection rates could change its expectations, and that is what happened Wednesday. Despite rising infections, the U.S. hast continued to set high marks for air travel, with more than 2.2 million people going through airport checkpoints on the first day of August, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Shares dropped more than 2% before the opening bell, and shares of all other major airlines fell as well.

Jane Withers, child actor turned commercial star, dies at 95

https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-08-08/jane-withers-child-actor-turned-commercial-star-dies-at-95

Jane Withers, the former child actor who bedeviled Shirley Temple on the screen and went on to star in a series of B movies that made her a box-office champion, has died, her daughter said. She was 95. Withers, also known as “Josephine the Plumber” from TV commercials in the 1960s and ’70s, died Saturday, her daughter Kendall Errair said. Withers was one of the last remaining stars from the 1930s and 1940s, the height of Hollywood studio dominance. After a series of minor roles as a child actress, Withers was cast by Twentieth Century-Fox in the 1934 “Bright Eyes,” as the nemesis of lovable Temple, then Hollywood’s most popular star. “I had to play the meanest, creepiest little girl that God ever put on this planet,” Withers recalled in 2000. “I ran over Shirley with a tricycle, and a baby buggy. And I thought, ‘Oh dear, everybody’s going to hate me forever because I was so creepy mean to Shirley Temple!‘ ” It didn’t turn out that way. Critics claimed that she stole the picture from Shirley. Children wrote fan letters admiring what she did to Shirley “because she’s so perfect.” Fox boss Darryl F. Zanuck figured there was room for another child actress at the studio, and she was signed to a contract. She played the anti-Shirley, a bright, talky, mischief-prone girl with wide eyes, chubby cheeks and straight black hair that contrasted with Shirley’s blonde curly top. For four years, Fox ground out three or four Withers films annually at budgets far lower than the Temple specials. Among the titles: “Ginger,” “Paddy O’Day,” “Little Miss Nobody,” “Wild and Wooly” and “Arizona Wildcat.” Even though B pictures were aimed for the bottom half of double bills, a theater owners poll named Withers one of the top money-making stars in 1936 and 1937. While the Temple films were made on Fox’s modern Westwood lot, Withers made hers at the old studio on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. “I wasn’t allowed to shoot in Westwood until Shirley left the studio,” she said. Withers proved less of a draw as a teenager, and her career dwindled. As an adult she appeared in a few films and on television. Her biggest prominence came from portraying “Josephine” in TV commercials for Comet cleanser for 12 years. “Oh, the money is nice, all right,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 1963. “I got five figures for eight of those commercials, and I’m doing four more.” The main advantage, she said, was that unlike the Broadway offers she was getting, the job didn’t interfere with her home life in Hollywood. She said in a later Times interview that she felt the original Josephine character was “too smart-alecky, too brash,” but she thought “any lady who was going to become a plumber” would take pride in her work and care about her customers. Fame started early for Jane Withers. Born April 12, 1926, in Atlanta, she had appeared as Dixie’s Dainty Dewdrop on local radio by the age of 3. Her mother had greater ambitions, and she persuaded her husband to move the family to Hollywood. Jane played bit roles in movies and supplied voices for the Willie Whopper and the Looney Tunes cartoons. Her experience with W.C. Fields in “It’s a Gift” (1934) belies the legend — encouraged by Fields himself — that the comedian hated children. Fields chose her for a scene in which she played hopscotch in front of his store, frustrating his exit. He coached her and afterward praised her professionalism. When she won her first starring role, he sent her two large bouquets and a note saying, “I know you’re going to knock them dead in `Ginger’ and you’re going to have a fantastic career.” Her popularity led to Jane Withers dolls and other merchandise. At her peak, she was earning $2,500 a week and $50,000 a year in endorsements. Unlike other child stars, her earnings did not disappear. She explained in 1974: “Fortunately, my dad had a great love of California land. He kind of dibble-dabbled in real estate in a marvelous way.” During her childhood she started collecting dolls and teddy bears, and she continued throughout her lifetime. In 1988 she reported that she owned 12,000 dolls and 2,500 teddy bears which were boxed and crated in a 27,000-square-foot warehouse. Withers’ film appearances as an adult were sporadic, partly because of three marriages and five children. Her most notable credits were “Giant” (1956) and “Captain Newman, M.D.” (1963). In 1947, Withers left Hollywood to live with her first husband, producer-oil man William Moss, in Midland, Texas. The marriage produced three children and ended after seven years. She returned to Hollywood and was paralyzed with arthritis. She recovered after spending five months in a hospital. She had two more children with second husband Kenneth Errair, one of the Four Freshmen singing group, who died in 1968. In 1985 she married Thomas Pierson, a travel agency executive. An interviewer in 1974 asked Withers how she managed to escape the troubles that plagued many child stars in adulthood. A lifelong Presbyterian, she commented: “I always took my troubles to the good Lord, and I never failed to get an answer.”

With coronavirus rising, 'The Suicide Squad' opens softly

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-08-08/with-coronavirus-rising-the-suicide-squad-opens-softly

Moviegoing, once expected to be closer to semi-normal levels by now, continues to be battered by the pandemic, the delta variant of the coronavirus and in-home streaming. The latest casualty: James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad,” a critically acclaimed, carnage-ridden would-be smash that disappointed with $26.5 million in estimated ticket sales. The Warner Bros. film, which was released simultaneously on HBO Max, could claim one pandemic record: the top R-rated opening. But “The Suicide Squad,” featuring the “Guardians of the Galaxy” director’s first DC Comics film, had seemed poised to be a bigger hit — and may have been if the delta variant wasn’t keeping a lot of moviegoers home. Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros., acknowledged the recovery is taking longer than anyone hoped. “We always knew the ramp-up would be two steps forward and one step back,” Goldstein said. “But when we’re living it, it’s not great.” Movies Suicides! Squads! Spoilers! Don’t read this until you’ve seen ‘The Suicide Squad.’ (The good one.) Aug. 6, 2021 As recently as a month ago, the outlook for movie theaters was brightening. Marvel’s “Black Widow” set a pandemic-best mark with a $80 million domestic debut. Now, that movie’s hybrid release is the focus of a bitter legal battle between star Scarlett Johansson and the Walt Disney Co. that has larger ramifications for the economics of big-budget movies in the streaming era. More importantly, COVID cases in the United States have since rocketed — from a few thousand daily infections to more than 100,000. That has led some to curtail indoor activities and some states to consider changing regulations. New York is planning to make vaccination a requirement for indoor dining and other venues, including movie theaters. “I think avid moviegoers have returned to theaters, and they show up first night and through the weekend,” Goldstein said. “But what we’re not seeing is the casual moviegoers — those who were interested and would have gone in a pre-pandemic context. Right now, they’re not quite there.” The result for “The Suicide Squad” — strong reviews, underwhelming opening — is a kind of inverse to 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” which was lambasted by critics but also made a lot of money. The film, directed by David Ayer, opened with $133.7 million in the U.S. and Canada, eventually grossing $745 million worldwide.) In part because of fan backlash to DC titles like “The Suicide Squad,” Gunn was brought in to set a more irreverent tone. Movies ‘The Suicide Squad’ newcomer Daniela Melchior makes her Hollywood debut as Ratcatcher 2 in James Gunn’s DC Universe supervillain feature. Aug. 5, 2021 Gunn’s movie, a sequel-reboot that returns some cast members but not others, drew good reviews (92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), already has a series spinoff starring John Cena upcoming and was largely endorsed by moviegoers with a B+ CinemaScore. The film stars Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis and Joel Kinnaman. Not back: Will Smith or Jared Leto. “The Suicide Squad” cost about $185 million to make, but the current state of the box office doesn’t offer much of a chance for profitability for movies at that scale. Warner didn’t release any streaming or subscription data related to the “The Suicide Squad,” but Goldstein said that every release has seen “a proportional response” on HBO Max that correlates to its popularity in theaters. If it’s a hit in theaters, it’s a hit on streaming. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, said that while he believes day-and-date releases can hurt a movie’s box office, the dominant variable is still the pandemic. “Today is a very different marketplace than it was even just a few weeks ago, which makes any kind of long-term proclamations as to what’s going on with the movie industry or movie theaters very challenging,” Dergarabedian said. “The desire for going to the movies is there, but the marketplace is in flux.” Last week’s top film, Disney’s even pricier “Jungle Cruise,” also opened softer than expected, collecting $34 million in the U.S. and Canada against a reported budget of $200 million. While most titles this year have fallen fast after release, “Jungle Cruise” held reasonably well, dropping 55% in its second week with $15.7 million. Globally, it has totaled $122 million. That doesn’t include the $30 million Disney said “Jungle Cruise” made in its first weekend in “early access” purchases on Disney+. (Disney didn’t share updated streaming revenue in the movie’s second week.) “Under normal conditions, a strong marketing campaign can overcome a few drawbacks and generate a good weekend. Under current conditions, that isn’t happening.” — David A. Gross If COVID-19 cases don’t drop soon, studios will be faced with the difficult question of what to do with upcoming tentpole releases — especially distributors that aren’t as tethered to streaming platforms. Eyes will be on how MGM handles the James Bond film “No Time to Die” (Oct. 8) and whether Sony holds with “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” (Sept. 24). Paramount recently postponed the release of “Clifford the Big Red Dog” citing the rise of the delta variant. “Currently, this is an unforgiving market,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consultancy firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “The last couple of big movies have been flawed. Under normal conditions, a strong marketing campaign can overcome a few drawbacks and generate a good weekend. Under current conditions, that isn’t happening.” Goldstein said that if not for the streaming half of its releases, Warner Bros. wouldn’t likely be opening films like “The Suicide Squad.” “We’ve definitely declared that a day-and-date strategy with HBO Max is not our plan and it’s not what we’re going to do in 2022. But if we didn’t do this in 2021, we couldn’t afford the marketing, let alone it would have been ridiculous to put the movies out,” Goldstein said. “It’s definitely a complicated time.” Some independent films have still found relative success. Tom McCarthy’s “Stillwater,” starring Matt Damon, added $2.9 million to bring its two-week total past $10 million for Focus Features. David Lowery’s “The Green Knight” grossed $2.6 million to bring its two-week gross to $12.2 million. Movies Less a sequel than a do-over, this supervillain extravaganza is the latest, goriest and flat-out weirdest emission from the DC Extended Universe. July 28, 2021

‘Jungle Cruise’ sails atop box office despite COVID concerns

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-08-01/jungle-cruise-sails-atop-box-office-despite-covid-concerns

Despite growing concerns over the Delta variant of the coronavirus, “Jungle Cruise” still drew moviegoers out to theaters during the film’s opening weekend to sail atop the North American box office. The Disney film starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt exceeded expectations by pulling in more than $34.1 million over the weekend. The adventure movie was estimated to open with around $25 million to $30 million domestically, but it outpaced those numbers despite the surge in coronavirus cases. Globally, “Jungle Cruise” brought in a total of $90 million, including $27.6 million at the international box office and more than $30 million from Disney+. Movies Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and the ‘Jungle Cruise’ filmmakers discuss honoring, and updating, the beloved Disneyland ride for a big-screen adventure. July 29, 2021 “Jungle Cruise” also earned five times more than “The Green Knight,” which came in at No. 2 with $6.78 million. The A24 film starring Dev Patel barely edged M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old,” which had $6.76 million after scoring the top spot last weekend. “Black Widow” placed fourth after a week of turmoil between Disney and the film’s lead, Scarlett Johansson. Johansson sued the studio over the film’s streaming release, which she said breached her contract and deprived her of potential earnings. Disney responded to the actor’s claim saying she received $20 million in compensation and that she benefited from the Disney+ revenue. Matt Damon’s “Stillwater” opened at No. 5 with $5.1 million but faced criticism as well. The drama film was blasted by Amanda Knox, who spoke out last week about her name being associated with the new movie, saying any connection ripped off her story with her consent at the “expense of my reputation.” Movies Amanda Knox took aim at Tom McCarthy and Matt Damon’s new film, ‘Stillwater,’ for profiting ‘off my name, face, & story without my consent,’ she says. July 30, 2021 Knox called out the film’s director, Tom McCarthy, in a series of tweets for using her name to promote the movie. “Space Jam: A New Legacy” has progressively dropped to No. 6 after going No. 1 two weeks ago. “Snake Eyes” fell to seventh after the film starring Henry Golding as the warrior-in-training debuted at No. 2 last week. “F9: The Fast Saga” placed eighth at the box office. The film pulled in $2.6 million and totaled more than $168 million domestically after six weeks. “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions” and “The Boss Baby: Family Business” rounded out the top 10.

Bacon may disappear in California as pig rules take effect

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-08-01/bacon-may-disappear-in-california-as-pig-rules-take-effect

Thanks to a reworked menu and long hours, Jeannie Kim managed to keep her San Francisco restaurant alive during the COVID-19 pandemic. That makes it all the more frustrating that she fears her breakfast-focused diner could be ruined within months by new rules that could make one of her top menu items — bacon — hard to get in California. “Our No. 1 seller is bacon, eggs and hash browns,” said Kim, who for 15 years has run SAMS American Eatery on the city’s busy Market Street. “It could be devastating for us.” At the beginning of next year, California will begin enforcing an animal welfare proposition approved overwhelmingly by voters in 2018 that requires more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens and veal calves. National veal and egg producers are optimistic they can meet the new standards, but only 4% of hog operations now comply with the new rules. Unless the courts intervene or the state temporarily allows noncompliant meat to be sold in the state, California will lose almost all of its pork supply, much of which comes from Iowa, and pork producers will face higher costs to regain a key market. Animal welfare organizations for years have been pushing for more humane treatment of farm animals, but the California rules could be a rare case of consumers clearly paying a price for their beliefs. With little time left to build new facilities, inseminate sows and process the offspring by January, it’s hard to see how the pork industry can adequately supply California, which consumes roughly 15% of all pork produced in the country. “We are very concerned about the potential supply impacts and therefore cost increases,” said Matt Sutton, the public policy director for the California Restaurant Assn. California’s restaurants and groceries use about 255 million pounds of pork a month, but its farms produce only 45 million pounds, according to Rabobank, a global food and agriculture financial services company. The National Pork Producers Council has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture for federal aid to help pay for retrofitting hog facilities around the nation to fill the gap. Hog farmers said they haven’t complied because of the cost and because California hasn’t yet issued formal regulations on how the new standards will be administered and enforced. Barry Goodwin, an economist at North Carolina State University, estimated the extra costs at 15% more per animal for a farm with 1,000 breeding pigs. If half the pork supply was suddenly lost in California, bacon prices would jump 60%, meaning a $6 package would rise to about $9.60, according to a study by the Hatamiya Group, a consulting firm hired by opponents of the state proposition. At one typical hog farm in Iowa, sows are kept in open-air crates measuring 14 square feet when they join a herd and then for a week as part of the insemination process before moving to larger, roughly 20-square-foot group pens with other hogs. Both are less than the 24 square feet required by the California law to give breeding pigs enough room to turn around and to extend their limbs. Other operations keep sows in the crates nearly all of the time and so also wouldn’t be in compliance. The California Department of Food and Agriculture said that although the detailed regulations aren’t finished, the key rules about space have been known for years. “It is important to note that the law itself cannot be changed by regulations and the law has been in place since the Farm Animal Confinement Proposition [Proposition 12] passed by a wide margin in 2018,” the agency said in response to questions from the Associated Press. The pork industry has filed lawsuits, but so far courts have supported the California law. The National Pork Producers Council and a coalition of California restaurants and business groups have asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to delay the new requirements. The council also is holding out hope that meat already in the supply chain could be sold, potentially delaying shortages. Josh Balk, who leads farm animal protection efforts at the Humane Society of the United States, said the pork industry should accept the overwhelming view of Californians who want animals treated more humanely. “Why are pork producers constantly trying to overturn laws relating to cruelty to animals?” Balk asked. “It says something about the pork industry when it seems its business operandi is to lose at the ballot when they try to defend the practices and then when animal cruelty laws are passed, to try to overturn them.” In Iowa, which raises about one-third of the nation’s hogs, farmer Dwight Mogler estimates the changes would cost him $3 million and allow room for 250 pigs in a space that now holds 300. To afford the expense, Mogler said, he’d need to earn an extra $20 per pig and so far, processors are offering far less. “The question to us is, if we do these changes, what is the next change going to be in the rules two years, three years, five years ahead?” Mogler asked. The California rules also create a challenge for slaughterhouses, which now may send different cuts of a single hog to locations around the nation and to other countries. Processors will need to design new systems to track California-compliant hogs and separate those premium cuts from standard pork that can serve the rest of the country. At least initially, analysts predict that even as California pork prices soar, customers elsewhere in the country will see little difference. Eventually, California’s new rules could become a national standard because processors can’t afford to ignore the market in such a large state. Kim, the San Francisco restaurant owner, said she survived the pandemic by paring back her menu, driving hundreds of miles herself through the Bay Area to deliver food and reducing staff. Kim, who is Korean American, said she’s especially worried for small restaurants whose customers can’t afford big price increases and that specialize in Asian and Hispanic dishes that typically include pork. “You know, I work and live with a lot of Asian and Hispanic populations in the city and their diet consists of pork,” Kim said. “Pork is huge. It’s almost like bread and butter.”

Pebble Beach retreat sells for $32.69 million, a Monterey County record

https://www.latimes.com/business/real-estate/story/2021-07-29/pebble-beach-retreat-sells-for-32-69-million-a-monterey-county-record

Monterey County just saw its priciest sale ever as a coastal estate overlooking the Pebble Beach Golf Links traded hands for $32.69 million. It edges out the previous record set in 2014 when a mansion in the same community sold for $31.25 million, records show. This one was owned by Michael Fitzpatrick, former president and chief executive of the San Jose-based fiber-optics company E-TEK Dynamics. He listed the mansion in May for $37.5 million and found a buyer just two weeks later, according to the Multiple Listing Service. Overlooking the ocean and 13th fairway, the Mediterranean mansion keeps the golf theme going with its own putting green, chipping area and golf-simulation room. There’s also a billiards room, bar, wine cellar, gym, movie theater and greenhouse across more than 10,000 square feet. Beamed ceilings and stone archways touch up the living spaces, which include a galley-style kitchen and living room with ocean views. Six bedrooms and seven bathrooms complete the floor plan, including two primary suites. Outside, the two-acre grounds add a winding landscaped driveway, a courtyard wrapped in ivy and backyard with two patios and a fire pit. In addition to the famed golf course, the Pebble Beach neighborhood has long been a landing spot for celebrities. Residents over the years have included George Lopez, Clint Eastwood, the Beach Boys’ Mike Love and Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob. Canning Properties of Sotheby’s International Realty Carmel Rancho held the listing. Nicholas Glaser, also with Sotheby’s, represented the buyer.

On a quiet weekend, ‘Old’ is tops at the box office while ‘Snake Eyes’ sinks

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-07-25/weekend-box-office-old-tops-snake-eyes-sinks

M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old” easily won a slower weekend at the North American box office, while the G.I. Joe pic “Snake Eyes” lived up to its name. Although both are fresh offerings from major studios, moviegoers turned out in modest numbers on a weekend where there was the notable distraction of the Olympics as well as rising concerns about the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Universal on Sunday said “Old” grossed an estimated $16.5 million. Paramount’s “Snake Eyes” origin story brought in an estimated $13.4 million in ticket sales. Movies Fans finally get a long look behind the mask in ‘Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins,’ starring Henry Golding. July 22, 2021 Although not wildly far apart in grosses, “Snake Eyes,” starring Henry Golding as the warrior-in-training, cost significantly more, with a reported $88-million price tag, excluding advertising. Meanwhile “Old,” starring Gael García Bernal and Vicky Krieps as the heads of a family whose tropical vacation turns into a horror when they begin to rapidly age, was independently financed for around $18 million. Including international grosses, “Old,” which is based on the graphic novel “Sandcastle,” grossed $23 million worldwide in its first weekend. “It’s an extraordinary debut,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s head of distribution. “M. Night Shyamalan is an amazing filmmaker and one of the best in the industry.” Orr said he also expected “Old” would continue to play well in the coming weeks. Movies M. Night Shyamalan gets lost with the wildly unhinged thriller ‘Old,’ but the result is strangely fascinating. July 22, 2021 Neither audiences nor critics reviewed the two new films especially well. “Old” has a 52% on Rotten Tomatoes and got a C+ CinemaScore, while “Snake Eyes” is currently at 42% on Rotten Tomatoes with a B- CinemaScore, which historically does not bode well for long-term potential. Disney and Marvel’s “Black Widow” crept ahead to third place with $11.6 million, bringing its global total to $314.9 million, while last week’s No. 1 film, “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” grossed $9.6 million, down 69% from last weekend. Both are available to watch at home, too: “Space Jam” is streaming on HBO Max, while Disney+ subscribers can access “Black Widow” for a $30 fee. “This is part of the natural ebb and flow of the box office as we are still on the road to recovery,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. ”You’re going to have bigger weekends, and you’re going to have smaller weekends. It’s still an unusual marketplace.” The entire North American box office weekend generated around $68 million in revenue, according to Comscore. It’s a far cry from just three weeks ago, when “Black Widow” alone made $80 million. But, Dergarabedian said, it’s also worth noting where the box office was a year ago when drive-ins were the only option and the weekend grosses totaled just $746,000. “How much the industry has recovered over the course of one year is nothing short of astounding,” Dergarabedian said. “We’re in a really good spot, and next weekend, when ‘Jungle Cruise’ opens, should be a solid weekend as well.” Following are estimated ticket sales for top movies for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. 1. “Old,” $16.5 million. 2. “Snake Eyes,” $13.4 million. 3. “Black Widow,” $11.6 million. 4. “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” $9.6 million. 5. “F9,” $4.7 million. 6. “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions,” $3.4 million. 7. “The Boss Baby: Family Business,” $2.7 million. 8. “The Forever Purge,” $2.3 million. 9. “A Quiet Place Part II,” $1.3 million. 10. “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain,” $830,000.

Search for bodies concludes at Florida condo collapse site

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-07-23/engineer-warns-avenue-next-miami-area-condo-collapse-fail

Firefighters on Friday declared the end of their search for bodies at the site of a collapsed Florida condo building, concluding a month of painstaking work removing layers of dangerous debris that were once piled several stories high. The June 24 collapse at the oceanside Champlain Towers South killed 97 people, with at least one more missing person yet to be identified. The site has been mostly swept flat and the rubble moved to a Miami warehouse. Although forensic scientists are still at work, including examining the debris at the warehouse, there are no more bodies to be found where the building once stood. No survivors have been found since the early hours after the collapse. Search teams spent weeks battling the hazards of the rubble, including an unstable portion of the building that teetered above, a recurring fire and Florida’s stifling summer heat and thunderstorms. They went through more than 14,000 tons of broken concrete and rebar, often working boulder by boulder, rock by rock, before declaring the mission complete. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s urban search-and-rescue team pulled away from the site Friday in a convoy of firetrucks and other vehicles, slowly driving to their headquarters for a news conference to announce that the search was officially over. At a ceremony, Fire Chief Alan Cominsky saluted the firefighters who worked 12-hour shifts while camping out at the site. “It’s obviously devastating. It’s obviously a difficult situation across the board,” Cominsky said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the men and women that represent Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.” Officials have declined to clarify whether there is a set of human remains that pathologists are struggling to identify or whether someone’s remains have yet to be found. Estelle Hedaya is the last person from the building who hasn’t been accounted for; finding or identifying her remains would bring the death toll to 98. Hedaya was an outgoing 54-year-old who loved traveling and liked to strike up conversations with strangers. Her younger brother Ikey has given DNA samples and visited the site twice to see the search efforts for himself. “As we enter Month 2 alone, without any other families, we feel helpless,” he told the Associated Press on Friday. He said he gets frequent updates from the medical examiner’s office. Leah Sutton, who knew Hedaya since birth and felt like her second mother, is worried that Hedaya will be forgotten. “They seem to be packing up and congratulating everyone on a job well done. And yes, they deserve all the accolades, but after they find Estelle.” The dead included members of the area’s large Orthodox Jewish community, the sister of Paraguay’s first lady, her family and their nanny, as well as a local salesman, his wife and their two young daughters. The collapse fueled a race to inspect other aging residential towers in Florida and beyond, and raised questions about regulations governing condominium associations and building safety. Shortly after the disaster, it became clear that warnings about Champlain Towers South, which opened in 1981, had gone unheeded. A 2018 engineering report detailed cracked and degraded concrete support beams in the underground parking garage and other problems that would cost nearly $10million to fix. The repairs did not happen, and the estimate grew to $15million this year as the owners of the building’s 136 units and its governing condo board squabbled over the cost, especially after a Surfside town inspector told them the building was safe. A complete collapse was all but impossible to imagine. As many officials said in the catastrophe’s first days, buildings of that size do not just collapse in the U.S. outside of a terrorist attack. Even tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes rarely bring them down. The fate of the property where the building stood has yet to be determined. A judge presiding over several lawsuits filed in the collapse aftermath wants the property sold at market rates, which would bring in an estimated $100 million or more. Some condo owners want to rebuild, and others say a memorial should be erected. “All options are on the table,” Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman said this week at a hearing. The disaster was one of the nation’s deadliest engineering failures. A set of overhead walkways collapsed at a Kansas City hotel in 1981, killing 114 people attending a dance. But that wasn’t the structure itself. A Washington, D.C., movie theater collapsed in 1922, killing 98. But that came after a blizzard dumped feet of snow on the flat roof. In the weeks after the condo tower collapse, a 28-story courthouse in downtown Miami, built in 1928, and two apartment buildings were closed after inspectors uncovered structural problems. They will remain shut until repairs are made. The first calls to 911 on June 24 came around 1:20 a.m., when Champlain residents reported that the parking garage had collapsed. A woman standing on her balcony called her husband, who was on a business trip, and said the swimming pool had fallen into the garage. Then, in an instant, a section of the L-shaped building fell straight down. Eight seconds later, another section followed, leaving 35 people alive in the standing portion. A teen was rescued in the initial hours, and firefighters believed other occupants might be found alive. They took hope from noises emanating from inside the pile, thinking it might be survivors tapping, but it was later determined that the sounds came from shifting debris. Rescue crews worked tirelessly, even when smoke and heat from a fire inside the building’s standing portion hampered their efforts. They persisted when the temperatures pushed into the upper 90s under the blazing sun, some toiling until they needed IVs to replenish fluids. They carried on when Tropical Storm Elsa passed nearby and dumped torrential rain. They left the pile only when lightning developed. The portion of the building that remained standing posed another grave threat as it loomed precariously above the workers. Authorities ordered it demolished on July 4. In the end, crews found no evidence that anyone who was found dead had survived the initial collapse, Cominsky said. Meanwhile, an engineer hired to help figure out why the condo tower collapsed is warning officials that the street in front of the property may still not be safe. Structural engineer Allyn Kilsheimer told Surfside and Miami-Dade officials in a letter Thursday that Collins Avenue could crumble, the Miami Herald and WPLG-TV reported. All that remains of the Champlain Towers South building are the walls of the underground parking garage around a hollowed-out foundation, and Kilsheimer, who is with the firm KCE Structural Engineers, says that without more support for those walls, traffic could make them collapse, and parts of the street could fall into the void. “If the wall were to collapse or rotate substantially, the retained soil under the street and sidewalk could move with it,” Kilsheimer wrote. He recommended building an earthen berm to support the walls near the street and sidewalk. Otherwise, the movement “could cause portions of the street to collapse and could seriously compromise the utilities under the street,” he wrote. Miami-Dade County is bringing in crews to help shore up the remaining underground walls, Rachel Johnson, the county’s communications director, told the Herald. “We are moving to procure a company to do shoring and bracing of the walls to assure there is no risk,” she said. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency investigating the collapse, has been monitoring the site’s safety. Collins Avenue, which is the major thoroughfare on the barrier island, has been closed to traffic near the site since the building collapsed. Town officials said Collins Avenue would be reopening soon.

To reach a peace deal, Taliban says Afghan president must go

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-07-22/to-reach-a-peace-deal-taliban-say-afghan-president-must-go

The Taliban says it doesn’t want to monopolize power, but it insists there won’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed. In an interview with the Associated Press, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is also a member of the group’s negotiating team, laid out the insurgents’ stance on what should come next in a country on the precipice. The Taliban has swiftly captured territory in recent weeks, seized strategic border crossings and is threatening a number of provincial capitals, as the last U.S. and NATO soldiers leave Afghanistan. This week, the top U.S. military officer, Gen. Mark Milley, said at a news conference that the Taliban has “strategic momentum,” and he did not rule out a complete Taliban takeover. But he said it is not inevitable. “I don’t think the endgame is yet written,” he said. Memories of the Taliban’s last time in power some 20 years ago, when it enforced a harsh brand of Islam that denied girls an education and barred women from work, have stoked fears of its return among many. Afghans who can afford it are applying by the thousands for visas to leave Afghanistan, fearing a violent descent into chaos. The U.S.-NATO withdrawal is more than 95% complete and due to be finished by Aug. 31. Shaheen said the Taliban will lay down its weapons when a negotiated government acceptable to all sides in the conflict is installed in Kabul and Ghani’s government is gone. World & Nation As the U.S. hastens to exit Afghanistan by Aug. 31, women fear a potential return to power by the Taliban and its harsh view of their role in society. “I want to make it clear that we do not believe in the monopoly of power, because any governments who [sought] to monopolize power in Afghanistan in the past were not successful governments,” Shaheen said, apparently including the Taliban’s own five-year rule in that assessment. “So we do not want to repeat that same formula.” But he was also uncompromising on the continued rule of Ghani, calling him a warmonger and accusing him of using his Tuesday speech on the Islamic holy day of Eid al-Adha to promise an offensive against the Taliban. Shaheen dismissed Ghani’s right to govern, resurrecting allegations of widespread fraud that surrounded Ghani’s 2019 election win. After that vote, both Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah declared themselves president. After a compromise deal, Abdullah is now No. 2 in the government and heads the reconciliation council. Ghani has often said he will remain in office until new elections can determine the next government. His critics — including ones outside the Taliban — accuse him of seeking only to keep power, causing splits among government supporters. Last weekend, Abdullah headed a high-level delegation to the Qatari capital, Doha, for talks with Taliban leaders. It ended with promises of more talks as well as greater attention to the protection of civilians and infrastructure. Shaheen called the talks a good beginning. But he said the government’s repeated demands for a cease-fire while Ghani stayed in power were tantamount to demanding a Taliban surrender. “They don’t want reconciliation, but they want surrendering,” he said. Before any cease-fire, there must be an agreement on a new government “acceptable to us and to other Afghans,” he said. Then “there will be no war.” Shaheen said that under this new government, women will be allowed to work, go to school and participate in politics but will have to wear the hijab, or headscarf. Women won’t be required to have a male relative with them to leave their home, he said, and Taliban commanders in newly occupied districts have orders that universities, schools and markets operate as before, including with the participation of women and girls. Politics The U.S. will move thousands of interpreters from Afghanistan, but it faces criticism for its lack of plans for other Afghans in danger from the Taliban. However, there have been repeated reports from captured districts of the Taliban imposing harsh restrictions on women, even setting fire to schools. One gruesome video that emerged appeared to show Taliban fighters killing captured commandos in northern Afghanistan. Shaheen said that some Taliban commanders had ignored the leadership’s orders against repressive and drastic behavior and that several had been put before a Taliban military tribunal and punished, though he did not provide specifics. He contended the video was fake, a splicing of separate footage. Shaheen said that there were no plans to make a military push on Kabul and that the Taliban had so far “restrained” itself from taking provincial capitals. But he warned it could, given the weapons and equipment it has acquired in newly captured districts. He contended that the majority of the Taliban’s battlefield successes came through negotiations, not fighting. “Those districts which have fallen to us and the military forces who have joined us … were through mediation of the people, through talks,” he said. “They [did not fall] through fighting…. It would have been very hard for us to take 194 districts in just eight weeks.” The Taliban controls about half of Afghanistan’s 419 district centers, and though it has yet to capture any of the 34 provincial capitals, it is pressuring about half of them, Milley said. In recent days, the U.S. has carried out airstrikes in support of beleaguered Afghan government troops in the southern city of Kandahar, around which the Taliban has been amassing, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Thursday. The rapid fall of districts and the seemingly disheartened response by Afghan government forces have prompted U.S.-allied warlords to resurrect militias with a violent history. For many Afghans weary of more than four decades of war, that raises fears of a repeat of the brutal civil war in the early 1990s in which those same warlords battled for power. “No one wants a civil war, including me,” Shaheen said. World & Nation An Afghan tradition was all but stamped out by religious extremists who — hearing sin instead of song — outlawed music and threatened with death its practitioners. July 4, 2021 Shaheen also repeated Taliban promises aimed at reassuring Afghans who fear the group. Washington has promised to relocate thousands of U.S. military interpreters. Shaheen said they had nothing to fear from the Taliban and denied threatening them. But, he added, if some want to take asylum in the West because Afghanistan’s economy is so poor, “that is up to them.” He also denied that the Taliban has threatened journalists and Afghanistan’s nascent civil society, which has been targeted by dozens of killings over the last year. The Islamic State group has taken responsibility for some, but the Afghan government has blamed the Taliban for most of the killings while the Taliban in turn accuses the Afghan government of carrying out the killings to defame it. Rarely has the government made arrests in the killings or revealed the findings of its investigations. Shaheen said journalists, including those working for Western media outlets, have nothing to fear from a government that includes the Taliban. “We have not issued letters to journalists [threatening them], especially to those who are working for foreign media outlets. They can continue their work even in the future,” he said.

PG&E will spend at least $15 billion burying power lines

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-07-21/pg-e-will-spend-up-to-30-billion-burying-power-lines

Pacific Gas & Electric plans to bury 10,000 miles of its power lines in an effort to prevent its fraying grid from sparking wildfires when electrical equipment collides with millions of trees and other vegetation across drought-stricken California. The daunting project announced Wednesday aims to bury about 10% of PG&E’s distribution and transmission lines at a projected cost of $15 billion to as much as $30 billion, based on how much the process currently costs. The utility believes it will find ways to keep costs closer to the lower estimate. Most of the costs will probably be shouldered by PG&E customers, whose electricity rates are among the highest in the U.S. PG&E stepped up its safety commitment just days after informing regulators that a 70-footpine tree that toppled on one of its power lines ignited a major fire in Butte County, the same rural area about 145 miles northeast of San Francisco where another fire sparked by its equipment in 2018 killed more than 80 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Since the Dixie fire started July 13 in a remote area of Butte County, the blaze has churned northeast through the Sierra Nevada. By Wednesday, the fire spanned a 133-square-mile area, forcing the Plumas County sheriff on Wednesday to order evacuations along the west shore of popular Lake Almanor. The backlash to PG&E’s potential liability for the Dixie fire prompted the company’s recently hired chief executive, Patricia “Patti” Poppe, to unveil the plan for underground lines several months earlier than planned. Previous PG&E regimes have staunchly resisted plans to bury long stretches of power lines because of the massive expense involved. But Poppe told reporters Wednesday that she quickly realized after she joined PG&E in January that moving lines underground is the best way to protect both the utility and the 16 million people who rely on it for power. “It’s too expensive not to do it. Lives are on the line,” Poppe told reporters. PG&E said only that burying the lines will take several years. California PG&E reported the information to the California Public Utilities Commission, noting that blown fuses and a tree may have contributed to the Dixie fire. July 19, 2021 However, getting the job done within the next decade will require a quantum leap. In the few areas where PG&E has already been burying power lines, it has been completing about 70 miles annually. PG&E expects to eventually bury more than 1,000 miles of power lines annually, said its chief operating officer, Adam Wright. While Wright likened the project to the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe after World War II, Poppe invoked President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 pledge for the U.S. to land on the moon. PG&E’s path to this point has been strewn with death and destruction. After previous leaders allowed its equipment to fall into disrepair in an apparent attempt to boost profits and management bonuses, the utility’s grid was blamed for igniting a series of devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that prompted the company to file for bankruptcy in 2019. The biggest fire, in Butte County, largely wiped out the town of Paradise and resulted in PG&E pleading guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter last year just weeks before it emerged from one of the most complex cases in U.S. history. As part of its bankruptcy, PG&E set up a $13.5-billion trust to pay victims of its past wildfires, but that fund is facing a roughly $2-billion shortfall because half its money is supposed to come from company stock that has been a market laggard. Since getting out of bankruptcy, PG&E also has been rebuked by California power regulators and a federal judge overseeing its criminal probation for breaking promises to reduce the dangers posed by trees near its power lines. The utility has also been charged with another round of fire-related crimes that it denies committing. Poppe insisted things are getting better this year under a plan that calls for PG&E to spend $1.4 billion removing more than 300,000 trees and trimming an additional 1.1 million. But she conceded the utility is “not making enough progress” because it’s only a fraction of that 8 million trees within striking distance of its power lines. But she also defended PG&E’s handling of the tree that may have caused the Dixie fire and its response. The tree looked healthy and was about 40 feet from power lines, she said, making it a low-risk danger. When a PG&E troubleshooter was sent out to inspect a potential problem, he noticed the tree had fallen and may have started a fire in a treacherous area that he tried to put out before firefighters arrived. “His efforts can be called nothing less than heroic,” Poppe said.

Joni Mitchell, Berry Gordy, Bette Midler to get Kennedy Center Honors

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-07-21/bette-midler-berry-gordy-among-new-kennedy-center-honorees

The Kennedy Center Honors will return in December with a class that includes Motown Records creator Berry Gordy, “Saturday Night Live” mastermind Lorne Michaels and actress-singer Bette Midler. Organizers expect to operate at full capacity, after last year’s ceremony was delayed for months and later conducted under COVID-19 restrictions. This 44th class of honorees for lifetime achievement in the creative arts is heavy on musical performers. The honorees also include opera singer Justino Diaz and folk music legend Joni Mitchell. All will be honored on Dec. 5 with a trademark program that includes personalized tributes and performances that are kept secret from the honorees. Deborah Rutter, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, said the current plan is to pack the center’s opera house to full capacity and require all attendees to wear masks. But the plans remain fluid, and Rutter said they’re ready to adapt to changing circumstances depending on the country’s COVID-19 situation. “We don’t know for sure what it’s going to be like,” Rutter said in an interview. “But don’t you think we all deserve to have a party?” The 43rd Kennedy Center Honors class was delayed from December 2020 as the center largely shut down its indoor programming. A heavily slimmed-down ceremony was finally held in May of this year, with a series of small socially distanced gatherings and pretaped video performances replacing the normal gala event. “We know how to do it now. We will make whatever adjustments we need,” Rutter said. “We’re going to be wearing masks right up until we don’t have to.” Midler, 75, has won four Grammy Awards, three Emmys, and two Tony Awards, along with two Oscar nominations. Her albums have sold over 30 million copies. In a statement, Midler said she was “stunned and grateful beyond words. For many years I have watched this broadcast celebrating the best talent in the performing arts that America has to offer, and I truly never imagined that I would find myself among these swans.” Music In a rare interview, Joni Mitchell talks with Cameron Crowe about the state of her singing voice and the making of “Blue,” 50 years after its release. June 20, 2021 Mitchell, 77, emerged from the Canadian coffee shop circuit to become one of the standard-bearers for multiple generations of singer-songwriters. In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine declared her 1971 album “Blue” to be the third-best album of all time. In a brief statement, Mitchell said, “I wish my mother and father were alive to see this. It’s a long way from Saskatoon.” The Dec. 5 ceremony will be the centerpiece of the Kennedy Center’s 50th anniversary of cultural programming. The center opened in 1971 and a young Diaz, now 81, actually performed at the grand opening of the opera house. “It’s a very special thing,” said Diaz, a bass-baritone from San Juan, Puerto Rico. “It’s such a great privilege to be able to say I shared this space with all these geniuses.” Gordy, 91, founded Motown Records — the Detroit-based hit factory that spawned what became known as the Motown Sound and launched the careers of a huge list of artists, including Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie, Marvin Gaye and Martha and the Vandellas. Gordy said in an interview that he always held President Kennedy as one of the greatest leaders in American history. “So to be honored in his name just means the world to me,” he said. Michaels, 76, is a comedy institution unto himself — creating and producing “Saturday Night Live” since 1975 and producing dozens of movies and television shows, including “Wayne’s World,” “Kids in the Hall” and “Mean Girls.” He received the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Award for lifetime achievement in comedy in 2004. Not normally an onstage performer, Michaels recalls the Mark Twain evening as “mostly nerve-racking” because he spent the evening dreading the traditional end-of-night speech he had to deliver. But the Kennedy Center Honors bring no such pressures, and Michaels said he intends to sit back in the special honorees box at the opera house and see what surprises the organizers have in store. “You don’t have to give a speech at the end, which is huge,” he said. “You’re just there with your friends.”

Angels prospect Reid Detmers could offer panda-powered pitching help

https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2021-07-11/angels-reid-detmers-shohei-ohtani-futures-game-trash-pandas

After a distinguished college career, and a pandemic that delayed the start of his professional career, Reid Detmers finally got to make his first major league start this season. As a Trash Panda. “Everybody seems to love the name,” Detmers said, “and everybody wants one of the jerseys.” Detmers, the Angels’ first-round draft pick last year, joined the Rocket City Trash Pandas of Madison, Ala., for their inaugural season, and his. To start a pro career at double A is an indication you are pretty close to the major leagues. To excel at double A, in an organization forever searching for starting pitching, is an indication you might be closer than you think. Angels The Angels have played well enough lately to pull above .500 but still trail several teams in the standings. More improvement could prompt a buying mode. July 10, 2021 Detmers represented the Angels in the Futures Game on Sunday, facing two batters and striking out both. Class-A pitcher Hector Yan also represented the Angels, and double-A infielder Michael Busch and double-A pitcher Andre Jackson represented the Dodgers. Detmers is 2-3 with a 3.60 earned-run average. He leads his league in strikeouts, with 91 in 50 innings, and with a jump in velocity from his college days. He has walked 17, and he has given up 10 home runs. “Reid has pitched extremely well,” Angels general manager Perry Minasian told reporters last week, “but there are parts of his game that still need to be sharpened, and he’s working on, day in, day out to improve.” Minasian said Sunday that Detmers is not moving to triple A for now. But the bigger picture is clear: The Angels have a rotation full of question marks and vacancies for 2022, and Detmers could force his way into consideration. “That’s not up to me,” Detmers said. “That’s obviously the front office’s decision. I have no say in that. All I can do is put in the work on the field and see what happens.” None of the pitchers drafted by the Angels from 2010 to 2019 has provided them with even 100 innings in a season. Griffin Canning was on pace to do so this season, but the Angels demoted him to triple A this month. Angels Angels slugger Jared Walsh took a deep dive into mastering what he calls ‘the art and the science of hitting.’ The result was All-Star production. July 8, 2021 Shohei Ohtani is an All-Star atop the rotation. Beyond that, however, Dylan Bundy, Alex Cobb, Andrew Heaney and Jose Quintana are eligible for free agency after the season. The Angels are currently auditioning Patrick Sandoval and Jose Suarez in the rotation. In the not-too-distant future, Detmers could have a running University of Louisville reunion in Southern California. His college rotation mate, Bobby Miller, was the Dodgers’ first-round pick last year. Miller is 1-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 11 games at Class-A Great Lakes. In 36 innings, he has struck out 40, walked 10 and given up one home run. Detmers vs. Miller, for bragging rights in L.A.? “That’s the goal,” Detmers said. “I don’t know when that will happen, but hopefully it’s soon. I’m just wishing him the best of luck.” Oh, and just what is a trash panda? “As far as I know,” Detmers said, “it’s a raccoon in a trash can.”

Without Giannis, Bucks beat Hawks for 3-2 Eastern Conference finals lead

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-07-01/without-giannis-bucks-beat-hawks-123-112-for-3-2-lead

Brook Lopez scored a playoff career-high 33 points and the Milwaukee Bucks withstood Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence to beat the Atlanta Hawks 123-112 on Thursday night for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. The Bucks are one win away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 1974. They won their lone NBA title in 1971. Four of their starters had at least 22 points: Lopez, Khris Middleton (26), Jrue Holiday (25) and Bobby Portis (22). Middleton also had 13 rebounds and eight assists. Holiday had 13 assists and six rebounds. “I thought we just did a great job of playing together,” Lopez said. “Obviously Khris and Jrue did their normal job making plays for everyone. We want everyone scoring and doing their thing. That’s tough on a defense.” Game 6 is Saturday in Atlanta, with the winner of the series facing the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals. Each team was missing its biggest star as Antetokounmpo dealt with a hyperextended left knee and Atlanta’s Trae Young sat out a second straight game due to a bone bruise in his right foot. Young got hurt when he accidentally stepped on an official’s foot along the sideline in Milwaukee’s 113-102 Game 3 victory. Antetokounmpo landed awkwardly after trying to block Clint Capela’s dunk attempt in Atlanta’s 110-88 Game 4 triumph. Just as the Hawks’ role players stepped up with Young sidelined in Game 4, Antetokounmpo’s teammates came through Thursday to help the Bucks overcome the loss of their two-time MVP. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 28 points. Atlanta also got 19 points each from John Collins and Danilo Gallinari, and 17 from Lou Williams. Portis took Antetokounmpo’s spot in the starting lineup and had the Fiserv Forum fans chanting “Bobby! Bobby!” on multiple occasions, continuing something that started during Milwaukee’s Game 2 blowout victory. Portis’ 22 points were a playoff career high. The Bucks never trailed and led by as many as 20 in the first quarter, making most of their shots and getting second-chance opportunities on their rare misses. The game was nearly eight minutes old by the time Cam Reddish got Atlanta’s first defensive rebound. “They were more physical,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “They hit us in the mouth and we just did not recover.” Milwaukee led 36-22 after a first quarter in which the Bucks outscored the Hawks 28-8 in the paint. Bogdanovic’s 13 first-half points helped the Hawks close the gap to 65-56 at the break. Atlanta cut the lead to 65-59 when Bogdanovic hit a three-pointer to open the third-quarter scoring, but that’s as close as the Hawks would get in the second half. This marked the second straight game in this series without any lead changes. The Hawks never trailed in Game 4. TIP-INS Hawks: Center Clint Capela was in the starting lineup after being listed as questionable before the game due to inflammation in his right eye. Capela took an inadvertent elbow to the face from Milwaukee’s Sam Merrill late in Game 4. He had six points and eight rebounds. Bucks: During his pregame availability, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer offered no update on when Antetokounmpo might be able to return. Budenholzer said Antetokounmpo did some work in the weight room and training area but didn’t wasn’t with his teammates on the court Thursday morning. … The Bucks made their first two three-point attempts but missed their next 12 and finished 9 of 29. ___ Follow Steve Megargee at https://twitter.com/stevemegargee ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

How Dave Kleckner led Etiwanda to a record-setting season

https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/story/2021-06-28/dave-kleckner-etiwanda-basketball-coach-of-the-year

For more than a year, Etiwanda coach Dave Kleckner could not let go of his team’s heart-breaking loss to Chatsworth Sierra Canyon in the Southern California regional basketball final on a final shot by Ziaire Williams. “It used to kill me,” he said. “When people brought it up, I used to feel miserable. I was not able to put it behind me until we started this season.” Kleckner moved forward. His team began its season by beating 15-0 La Verne Damien. The Eagles won the Baseline League title, then suffered another close loss to Sierra Canyon in the Southern Section Open Division playoffs. It was regroup time. And the Eagles did it. They got over the hump to beat Sierra Canyon 82-76 in the regional semifinals on the Trailblazers’ home court. Then they won the Open Division regional final, handing Torrey Pines its first defeat after 30 consecutive victories. The Eagles finished 14-2 during a shortened COVID-19 season. Kleckner has been selected The Times’ coach of the year for finding a way to keep moving forward in a time of uncertainty with a mostly new team. “Hey, we want to be in the Open Division,” he said. “That means you’re in the top eight teams in Southern California. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Our players play with a lot of urgency. We look forward to those challenges.”

Bruce Springsteen marks the return of live shows on Broadway

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-06-27/bruce-springsteen-marks-the-return-of-live-shows-on-broadway

In another sign of live entertainment’s rebirth, Bruce Springsteen returned to Broadway this weekend, strapping on a guitar and reviving a show for an audience that included a member of his E Street Band and the governor of his home state. Springsteen had ended his residency in December 2018 after 236 performances, but was persuaded to return for a summer’s encore ahead of most Broadway shows coming back in September. The tough rock ‘n’ roller was clearly emotional. He wiped away tears toward the end of his show, which mixes personal remembrances with performances of his songs. He said the summer reprise allows him to spend more time, figuratively speaking, with his late father and other fallen relatives. Every week brings fresh evidence of life resuming in entertainment following a 15-month COVID-19 pause. Festivals and concert tours are being booked, and Springsteen plans to take his band on the road next year. The Foo Fighters reopened New York’s Madison Square Garden for music with a cathartic June 20 concert. Company Town Consumers are excited to get back to live events. But ‘virtual’ shows aren’t going away, according to a new study from UTA. June 24, 2021 Thrilled to be back, fans cheered Springsteen’s words so often he had to profanely tell them to settle down, lest the show take all night. His longtime guitarist, Steven Van Zandt, received a standing ovation when he took a seat in the audience. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were also there Saturday night.\ “It’s good to see everyone here tonight unmasked, sitting next to each other,” Springsteen said. “What a year. I’m 71 years on this planet and I’ve never seen anything like it.” Audience members had to show proof of vaccination to enter the St. James Theatre. That attracted a boisterous handful of anti-vaccination demonstrators to gather at the entrance and complain Springsteen was promoting segregation. Inside, one audience member, Gina Zabinski of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, said it felt amazing to see music performed live again. “I’m going to cry,” she said. “I didn’t think I would miss it as much as I did,” said Zabinski, who brought her son Zak, a musical theater student at the University of Miami. “I think I just took it for granted because we would go to shows all the time.” Another fan, Benjamin Smith of Philadelphia, said “I can’t think of a better person to help us return to a sense of normalcy.” Springsteen said he and his family were lucky during the pandemic, able to stay healthy and keep busy. “I had a podcast with the president of the United States (Barack Obama),” he said. “I was handcuffed and thrown in jail.” The latter referred to his Nov. 14, 2020 arrest for drunken driving and reckless driving in New Jersey. Those charges were later dismissed since he had a blood alcohol level below the state’s legal limit and he paid a fine for downing two tequila shots in an area where alcohol wasn’t allowed. “New Jersey,” he said. “They love me there.” While the case provided him with fresh fodder for jokes, the structure and stories of Springsteen’s show was similar, if a little streamlined, to the way it was the first time he was on Broadway. He eliminated the iconic closer, “Born to Run,” replacing it with the thematically sharper “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” off his 2020 album. The two-song duet with his wife, Patti Scialfa, featured a smoldering version of “Fire,” his song that became a 1978 hit for the Pointer Sisters. In a clear reference to the George Floyd killing, Springsteen performed his own song about a police shooting, “American Skin (41 Shots),” standing onstage in a blood red spotlight. Springsteen said he’s never seen American democracy as threatened as it is today, and that it frightened him. “I’m still stubborn,” he said. “I believe we’re going to make it.”

Daytime Emmys salute late TV icons Alex Trebek, Larry King

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-06-27/daytime-emmys-salute-late-tv-icons-alex-trebek-larry-king

The Daytime Emmys turned into a love letter to Alex Trebek, honoring the beloved “Jeopardy!” host and the show seven months after his death. Trebek won as game show host and “Jeopardy!” earned game show honors on Friday night. ABC’s “General Hospital” claimed four trophies, including best drama. Maurice Benard took lead actor honors for the third time as Sonny Corinthos. Jacqueline MacInnes Wood of CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful” won as lead actress, adding to her trophy from two years ago for her role as Steffy Forrester. It was a family affair, with the children of Trebek and Larry King accepting on their late fathers’ behalf. Trebek’s son, Matt, and daughter, Emily, stood behind the host’s podium on the quiz show’s set. Trebek died of pancreatic cancer in November at age 80. “For as long as we can remember, he was always so proud to be a part of ‘Jeopardy!’, to work on a show that was based on knowledge, risk and the challenge — people had to think,” Trebek’s son said. “He loved every bit of it.” Emily added, “He was always excited to go to work, even during his battle with cancer. He was so fortunate that he was able to do what he loved, and we know that he not once took it for granted.” Television In her first interview since her husband Alex Trebek died last year, Jean Trebek opens up on ‘Today’ about grief and the ‘Jeopardy!’ host’s legacy. April 28, 2021 It was Trebek’s third straight victory and sixth overall in the category. He was nominated a record 32 times during his career. Executive producer Mike Richards dedicated the best game show trophy to Trebek, who hosted for 37 years. “He was more than just a game show host, he was a legend, a towering figure,” Richards said in pre-taped remarks. “He believed that ‘Jeopardy!’ was more than just a game show. He loved it because it stood for facts, competition, and the celebration of intelligence.” Kelly Clarkson’s eponymous talk show earned two trophies. The singer was honored as host, beating out daytime newcomer Drew Barrymore, among others, and the show won in the entertainment talk category. Trebek was remembered in a special tribute segment, along with Regis Philbin and King. Philbin died last July at age 88. Among those honoring Trebek in taped comments were U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “I got to talk with him a few years ago, and he expressed to me how proud he was to be a Canadian,” Trudeau said. “I had to tell him that all Canadians are incredibly proud that he’s one of us as well.” Obituaries Larry King, who gained fame with his CNN show ‘Larry King Live,’ died Saturday in Los Angeles. King was hospitalized with COVID-19 earlier this month. Jan. 23, 2021 King, who died in January at age 87, won as informative talk show host for his eponymous show on Ora TV. His sons, Chance and Cannon, accepted. “This last season was a testament to his love for broadcasting,” Chance King said. “As much as he is gone, he is with us in our hearts forever.” Marla Adams and Max Gail won supporting actor trophies. Adams plays Dina Mergeron on CBS’ “The Young and the Restless.” The 82-year-old actor accepted at home with the Emmy statue on a table behind her. “Y&R” also won the best writing category. Gail appeared on stage while socially distanced because of the coronavirus pandemic to accept for his role as Mike Corbin on “General Hospital.” It was the 78-year-old actor’s second trophy in the supporting category, having won in 2019. “GH” also won directing honors. “Red Table Talk,” featuring Jada Pinkett Smith, her daughter, Willow, and her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, won for informative talk show. Sheryl Underwood of “The Talk” hosted.

Complete coverage: Death of George Floyd and trial of Derek Chauvin

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-05-21/complete-coverage-death-of-george-floyd-and-trial-of-derek-chauvin

May 25 marked one year since George Floyd was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, sparking protests around the world against police brutality. Chauvin was convicted in April of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison on June 25.

3.2 earthquake hits near LAX, is felt across Westside, South Bay

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-06-23/magnitude-3-4-earthquake-strikes-los-angeles-area

A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was reported at 5:08 p.m. Wednesday near Los Angeles International Airport and was felt across the Westside and South Bay, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake occurred one mile from Inglewood, El Segundo, Lennox and Ladera Heights. It was centered just north of LAX near the intersection of Lincoln and Sepulveda boulevards. Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said officials had received no immediate reports of infrastructure damage or 911 calls requesting medical assistance. The El Segundo Police Department also said it received no calls about any damage. No damage was immediately reported at LAX, but crews were checking the airfield and facilities as a precaution, an airport spokesperson said on Twitter. In the last 10 days, there have been no earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby. An average of five earthquakes with magnitudes of 3.0 to 4.0 occur each year in the Greater Los Angeles area, according to a recent three-year data sample. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 7.26 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS. Get earthquake-ready in six weeks From building a kit to buying insurance, our Unshaken newsletter course will help you prepare. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide, building your own emergency kit and spending time with our extensive preparedness guide. This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published, and a Times reporter updated it. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.

‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’ hits top mark at box office

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-06-20/the-hitmans-wifes-bodyguard-hits-top-mark-at-box-office

“The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” struck the top box office target. The Lionsgate’s film starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek brought in $11.6 million domestically to claim the No. 1 spot in its debut. The action-comedy, which appeared in 3,331 locations, is a follow-up to the 2017 breakout hit “The Hitman’s Bodyguard.” The “Hitman” sequel notched “A Quiet Place Part II,” which took the second spot in its fourth weekend of release. The Paramount horror-thriller, which stars Emily Blunt and was directed by John Krasinski, earned $9.4 million. The film became the first of the pandemic era to reach $100 million domestically. This weekend, “Godzilla vs. Kong” became the second movie of the pandemic to cross $100 million. The film has garnered more than $442.5 million worldwide. Meanwhile, the Jon M. Chu-directed “In the Heights” continued to struggle. The adaption of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical dropped a few slots to sixth place over the weekend. Movies The studios, already lacking diversity, expect high-profile films with nonwhite casts to be “proof of concept.” All it creates is unfair pressure. June 17, 2021 The Warner Bros. film earned more than $4.2 million, a 63% drop from the previous week. The critically acclaimed musical has recently been called out for its lack of dark-skinned, Black Latinos in leading roles. However, Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, believes the movie fell victim to lofty expectations. He said musicals often take a while to develop an audience. “There were so many things going on with this film,” Dergarabedian said. “There were very high expectations when it opened last weekend. And because of the strong reviews, I think there were some overblown expectations. With the big projections, people were emotionally tied to the movie. The box office projections were overblown. That set unrealistic expectations.” “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” was third, with $6.1 million, while “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” claimed the fourth spot, with $5.15 million. It barely edged the Emma Stone-led “Cruella,” which came in fifth with $5.1 million. “Spirit Untamed,” “12 Mighty Orphans,” “The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2” and “Wrath of Man” rounded out the top 10. Dergarabedian expects a big weekend for the latest installment in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, Universal Pictures’ “F9,” which releases in domestic theaters June 25. The film starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Jordana Brewster has already earned nearly $300 million internationally. “This is about winning over audiences who watched a lot of content on the small screen,” he said. “Now, they will be able to see a movie that has been long delayed, but is tailor made for the big screen and that theater communal experience. Escapism will be the watch word when it comes to ‘Furious 9.’”

Stocks fall, bond yields rise as Fed discusses dialing back support

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-06-16/stocks-down-yields-up-as-fed-discusses-dialing-back-support

U.S. stocks fell and bond yields climbed Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled it may start easing off the accelerator on its massive support for the economy earlier than previously thought. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 22.89 points, or 0.5%, to 4,223.70 after the Fed unveiled a highly anticipated set of projections by its policymakers, which showed some expect short-term rates to rise half a percentage point by late 2023. Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell also said it has begun talking about the possibility of slowing down the bond purchases it makes every month to keep longer-term rates low. Super-low interest rates have been one of the main sources of fuel for the stock market’s rocket ride to records, with the most recent coming Monday. That’s why the immediate reaction for investors to the Fed’s comments was to send stocks lower and bond yields higher. The S&P 500 lost as much as 1% in the afternoon, but the moves moderated as Powell said in a news conference that any changes are probably still a ways away. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 265.66 points, or 0.8%, to 34,033.67, paring a loss that hit 382 points shortly after the Fed’s announcement. The Nasdaq composite fell 33.17 points, or 0.2%, to 14,039.68 after earlier being down 1.2%. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 1.55% from 1.50% late Tuesday. The two-year yield, which moves more closely with expectations for Fed policy, rose to 0.20% from 0.16%. After getting over the surprise of seeing several policymakers move up forecasts for raising rates, Nate Thooft, senior managing director at Manulife Investment Management, said that his focus turned to their projections for inflation and the economy’s growth. Neither changed much for next year or for the long term. “To me, that says the confidence level they have in their outlook is higher, not that their outlook has changed,” Thooft said. Before, uncertainty about the economy’s recovery from the pandemic may have forced Fed officials to push the timeline for rate increases further into the future. Now, with widespread vaccinations helping to send the economy roaring out of its prior coma, the central bank may be feeling more confident. But moving up the timeline for rate hikes probably also moves up the timing for a potential slowdown in the Fed’s bond purchases. In his news conference after the Fed’s announcement, Powell said that would be the bigger near-term change for markets. He said again that the purchases will continue until “substantial further progress has been made” in getting the economy to full employment and prices to be stable. But he acknowledged that conditions have improved enough to start discussing when to taper the purchases. “You can think about this meeting as the ‘talking about talking about’ meeting,” he said. That has some investors circling late August on the calendar, when the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City will host its annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. That gathering has been the setting for big Fed pronouncements in the past, and maybe that’s when Powell will offer more guidance about when the taper will begin. A recent burst of inflation had raised concerns that the Fed will have to tighten the spigot on its support. Prices are leaping for used cars, airfares and other things across the economy as it hurtles back to life. The consumer price index surged 5% in May from a year earlier, for example. Fed policymakers on Wednesday raised their expectations for inflation this year. The median projection for the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation was for 3.4%, up from 2.4% in March. But the Fed still sees the burst being only temporary as the economy works its way through supply shortages and other short-term factors. The median projection sees inflation dropping to 2.1% next year and 2.2% in 2023. That’s up only slightly from their earlier projection of 2% for 2022 and 2.1% for 2023, made in March. For economic growth in 2022, the median projection for policymakers held steady at 3.3%. For 2023, it rose to 2.4% from an earlier projection of 2.2%. Within the S&P 500, four stocks fell for every one that rose. One of the biggest losses came from Oracle, which slid 5.6% after it laid out investment plans that could drag on its upcoming profitability. Furniture company La-Z-Boy plunged 11.7% after warning investors that dramatically higher prices it’s paying for raw materials will drag down how much profit it makes from every $1 of sales. General Motors was among the few gainers. It rose 1.6% after saying it will raise spending on electric and autonomous vehicles and add two U.S. battery factories.

Nothing's fishy here: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez caught kissing at Malibu sushi spot

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-06-14/ben-affleck-and-jennifer-lopez-kissing-at-nobu

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck know the drill: Nothing says “celebrity romance” like locking lips at Nobu. The couple, who split up in 2004 but reunited following Lopez’s March breakup with Alex Rodriguez, were photographed Sunday kissing and nuzzling at the Malibu sushi restaurant, a favorite hangout among celebrities, the New York Post reported Monday. The occasion? The Post said Lopez’s younger sister, Lynda, was celebrating in advance of her 50th birthday, which falls on Tuesday. Apparently the singer’s extended family, including her twins, Max and Emme, was on hand for dinner. This is the first time Jen and Ben have been caught kissing since they started hanging out again in late April, sparking excited declarations that Bennifer 2.0 was happening. Entertainment & Arts The pair’s apparent reunion has many of us cheering — not only for the triumph of true love but also for the chance at a much-needed media do-over. May 12, 2021 They’ve spent lots of time together in recent weeks — much of it at her Los Angeles home — and traveled together to Montana for a weekend. But Lopez was solo in Miami working on a music video before Bennifer reunited in L.A. on Friday. Affleck was spotted with Lopez’s mother, Guadalupe Rodríguez, last week in Las Vegas, where, according to People, she was making a “fun cameo” appearance in something the Oscar winner was directing. Rodríguez and Affleck have reportedly been close since the first time the couple dated. “In the past, Jennifer’s mom and Ben were very close. Guadalupe loved Ben. She was sad when they couldn’t work things out years ago,” an unnamed source told People over the weekend. “She is thrilled that they are back together now.” Since ending his marriage to Jennifer Garner — the couple split in 2015 after 10 years of marriage — Affleck has dated several people, including “Saturday Night Live” producer Lindsay Shookus, Playboy model Shauna Sexton and “Knives Out” actress Ana de Armas, whom he was hanging out with during the bulk of the pandemic. Entertainment & Arts Matt Damon welcomes the news that buddy Ben Affleck has been spending time with Jennifer Lopez, while Kevin Smith says he coined ‘Bennifer’ nickname. May 11, 2021 Lopez, who has been through three divorces, started dating Alex Rodriguez in 2017. The couple got engaged in the Bahamas in 2019, then split in mid-April after warning bells went off a bit prematurely in March. With the grainy Nobu photos, Bennifer now share something in common with alleged new couple Kanye West and Irina Shayk: They were all photographed with the longest of long lenses. (Incidentally, for a while, J. Lo and A-Rod had a beach house in Malibu, near the restaurant, but they unloaded it last September.)

Gains for some tech giants nudge S&P to another record high

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-06-14/gains-for-some-tech-giants-nudge-s-p-to-another-record-high

Technology companies helped lift stocks higher on Wall Street, nudging the Standard & Poor’s 500 index to its third straight all-time high, even as other parts of the market faltered. A burst of buying in the final 10 minutes of trading sent the benchmark index 0.2% higher. The S&P 500 had been down 0.3% earlier amid another bout of choppy trading as Wall Street awaits the latest take from the Federal Reserve on inflation. Investors are trying to gauge the strength of the economic recovery and whether emerging signs of inflation will be transitory, as the central bank believes. The Fed delivers its interest rate policy update Wednesday afternoon. “Most of this is just positioning in front of the Fed later this week,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at All Star Charts. Investors are “trying to get a sense of not just what the Fed is going to say in terms of announcements, but what they expect in terms of the path of monetary policy and the economy going forward.” The S&P 500 added 7.71 points to 4,255.15. The index has notched a weekly gain three weeks in a row. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 85.85 points, or 0.2%, to 34,393.75. The Nasdaq rose 104.72 points, or 0.7%, to 14,174.14. Small-company stocks fell. The Russell 2000 index lost 9.66 points, or 0.4%, to 2,326.15. Among the tech sector winners Monday were Apple, which rose 2.5%, and Adobe, which gained 2.9%. Several large communications companies also made gains. Facebook rose 1.7% and Netflix gained 2.3%. Those gains offset a broad decline in financial, industrial and materials stocks, among others. JPMorgan dropped 1.7%. Wall Street is trying to gauge the strength of the economic recovery, the effect rising inflation is having on its trajectory, and the Fed’s next move. Investors have been worried that the Fed could ease up on bond purchases and other stimulus measures as the economy recovers. No policy changes are expected immediately, but comments on a shift in policy could jostle an already skittish market. Fed officials have maintained that any rise in inflation will be temporary as the economy recovers. “There’s still this debate on inflation and, notwithstanding what the Fed does and whether yields move down, there’s still some upward pricing pressure,” said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager with Globalt Investments. A boost in demand for goods has helped fuel a rise in the cost of such things as food, cars and household goods. Shipping costs are also rising and adding to the increase in prices. The uncertainty over inflation has been fueling much of the back and forth in the market between stocks that are considered safer value holdings versus those with more potential for sharp growth. “As you go into the summer and you have uncertainty about inflation, the Fed and the stimulus, you’ll kind of see people neutralizing bets,” Martin said. Lordstown Motors sank 18.8% after the chief executive and chief financial officer resigned as problems mount for the startup electric truck maker. Novavax gave up an early gain, dropping 0.9%. The vaccine maker said its COVID-19 shot was highly effective against the disease and also protected against variants in a large study in the U.S. and Mexico. The company is facing raw-material shortages, though, and plans to seek authorization for the shots by the end of September. Bond prices fell, sending yields mostly higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.50% from 1.46% late Friday. “You don’t get a message from the bond market that it’s worried either about persistent inflation or about the Fed doing something dramatic in terms of not being the buyer of bonds that it has been in recent quarters,” Delwiche said. European markets were mostly higher. Several markets in Asia were closed for a holiday.

Biden presses G-7 allies for bolder front against Chinese influence, forced labor

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-06-11/biden-presses-allies-g7-summit-bolder-front-china

President Biden pressed allies in other leading democracies on Saturday to work together to combat China’s growing influence over developing countries. The centerpiece of the effort is an “infrastructure bank” to offer those nations billions in public and private financing for major projects, offering an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative that has dramatically increased its sway in dozens of smaller countries across the globe. The move would mark the first major response by the United States and others in the Group of 7 nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy — to the initiative launched by China in 2013. Unlike the Belt and Road Initiative, which has been criticized for its opaque bidding processes and reliance on low-interest loans that have put borrowing nations at the mercy of Chinese banks and contractors, the U.S.-led initiative would aim to be “values-driven, transparent and sustainable,” said one senior Biden administration official, outlining the plan for reporters on condition of anonymity. “This is not about making countries choose between us and China,” the official said. “This is about offering an affirmative and positive vision that they would want to choose.” In addition to requiring that new infrastructure projects be as environmentally sustainable as possible, the venture would also forbid any use of forced labor. European leaders have been somewhat reluctant to fully align themselves with America’s increasingly confrontational posture toward China. Given their closer economic ties to Beijing, they have been more eager to join forces behind the scenes to work on issues such as intellectual property protections and trade. While the G-7 allies were eager to join forces on the infrastructure financing venture, some were hesitant about delivering the forceful condemnation of China’s use of forced labor that Biden has lobbied to include in the final summit communique Sunday. The details of that document were still being negotiated Saturday. “We’re pushing for being specific on areas like Xinjiang, where forced labor is taking place,” the Biden administration official said, referring to the territory in northwest China where tens of thousands of ethnic minority Uyghurs have been forcibly transferred from their homes and assigned to factories across nine provinces to work in a range of supply chains including electronics, textiles and automobiles. “We think it’s critical to call out the use of forced labor,” the official said, “and to take concrete actions to ensure the global supply chains are free from forced labor.” During talks Saturday, German and European Commission leaders expressed concern about singling out China on the issue of forced labor, suggesting that the final communique could simply express opposition to the practice more generally. World & Nation China’s oppression of Muslims reaches beyond Xinjiang into Pakistan. Why does it stay quiet? Sept. 25, 2020 Biden, meeting some of his counterparts for the first time, huddled with several leaders in short sessions, which one aide referred to as “diplomatic speed-dating.” The president held an hourlong meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the summit Saturday afternoon. Macron, who like many of the leaders in the Group of 7 had a contentious relationship with former President Trump, said before the meeting, “It’s great to have a U.S. president who’s part of the club and very willing to cooperate.” As the two men sat outside in woven chairs at the edge of a broad beach, reporters asked Biden whether he had convinced U.S. allies that America is back. He said, looking at Macron, “Ask him.” Macron, on the spot, responded: “Definitely.” Of all the G-7 allies, Macron had been the most outspoken in recent years about wanting to establish more independence from Washington. Biden also met separately with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. They discussed a range of issues, including the future of Afghanistan as the U.S. withdraws its forces there, the White House said. Biden also met quickly with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, one of four leaders outside the G-7 invited to take part in meetings Saturday. Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, another Saturday invitee. That discussion, administration officials said, focused on bolstering cooperation between the U.S. and larger Indo-Pacific nations in the region under Biden’s “Quad” initiative — an informal group comprising the U.S., Australia, Japan and India — another effort to counter the economic and military clout of China. In joining Biden’s infrastructure initiative, the G-7 leaders will be making clear to the world they share his view that this moment could be a global “inflection point” and that it’s imperative for democracies to unite to solve problems and potentially halt the rise of autocracies that have gained power in recent years. Get our Essential Politics newsletter The latest news, analysis and insights from our politics team. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. After four difficult years of relations with the Trump administration, the allies’ responsiveness to Biden’s agenda also shows a desire for him to succeed. They even called the infrastructure plan “Build Back Better for the World,” adapting the slogan from the president’s domestic agenda. On Friday, G-7 leaders outlined a new effort to collectively contribute 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine to poorer nations where the pandemic continues to spread. It was another demonstration, they said, of their commitment to come to the aid of other nations without the sort of conditions that are often attached to aid from larger autocracies, namely China and Russia.

Today's Headlines: A mix of diplomacy and controversy on Kamala Harris' trip

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/newsletter/2021-06-09/kamala-harris-guatemala-mexico-todays-headlines

Vice President Kamala Harris met with Mexico’s president after visiting Guatemala and drawing criticism for telling Central Americans to “not come” to U.S. A Mix of Diplomacy and Controversy Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped up her first official foreign trip Tuesday, having gained exposure on the world stage in trying to reset U.S. relations in Latin America. But she got more attention back home for something else: controversies over her words on immigration. Harris first angered some on the left in the United States with her strong statement Monday in Guatemala telling desperate would-be migrants, “Do not come” to the U.S. border, and warning that they’d be “turned back.” Immigrant rights groups and progressives took to social media and the airwaves condemning Harris’ blunt rhetoric as “disappointing” and “tone deaf.” Among the critics was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who defended the rights of asylum-seekers and lambasted decades of U.S. foreign policy for “contributing to regime change and destabilization in Latin America.” Among some recent Central American immigrants, the reaction to Harris’ hard-edged statement was eye-rolling surprise. But the message is no different from past Democratic administrations. The blowback swirled amid the vice president’s diplomatic debut in Mexico City, where Harris’ primary focus was immigration. Still, she also sought to more broadly define the Biden administration’s pivotal diplomatic relationship with Mexico, America’s southern neighbor, a close ally and No. 1 trading partner. How the Capitol Was Breached A Senate investigation of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has uncovered broad government, military and law-enforcement missteps surrounding the violent attack. Among these missteps: a breakdown within multiple intelligence agencies and a lack of training and preparation for Capitol Police officers who were quickly overwhelmed by the rioters. The Senate report is the first — and could be the last — bipartisan review of how hundreds of former President Trump’s supporters were able to breach security lines and break into the Capitol that day. The report includes new details about the police officers on the front lines who suffered chemical burns, brain injuries and broken bones and who told senators that they were left with no direction when command systems broke down. The report recommends immediate changes to give the Capitol Police chief more authority, provide better planning and equipment for law enforcement, and streamline intelligence gathering among federal agencies. A Dispute Over Forfeiture When FBI agents asked for permission to rip hundreds of safe-deposit boxes from the walls of a Beverly Hills business and haul them away, U.S. Magistrate Steve Kim set some strict limits on the raid. The business, U.S. Private Vaults, had been charged in a sealed indictment with conspiring to sell drugs and launder money. Its customers had not. So the FBI could seize the boxes themselves, Kim decided, but had to return what was inside to the owners. Yet the FBI is now trying to confiscate $86 million in cash and millions of dollars more in jewelry and other valuables that agents found in 369 of the boxes. Prosecutors claim the forfeiture is justified because the unnamed box holders were engaged in criminal activity, though they have disclosed no evidence to support the allegation. Box holders and their lawyers denounced the ploy as a brazen abuse of forfeiture laws, saying prosecutors and the FBI were trampling on the rights of people who thought they’d found a safe place to stash confidential documents, heirlooms, gold, rare coins and cash. How ‘The Bachelor’ Host’s 20-Year Stint Ended Chris Harrison is officially parting ways with “The Bachelor” after 20 years as the face of the franchise. The announcement comes in the aftermath of a racism controversy that engulfed the first Black bachelor’s season earlier this year. “The Bachelor” faced a racial reckoning last season after photos surfaced of contestant Rachael Kirkconnell at an Old South-themed party in 2018. Harrison himself was caught up in the scandal following an interview with Rachel Lindsay, the first Black “Bachelorette,” in which he made racially insensitive statements minimizing those images. For fans, his stepping down as host was no surprise and even a welcome change. In the early 1940s, Dolores Gunn ran for Los Angeles City Council and mayor. She also had several run-ins with the Los Angeles Police Department vice squad. On June 9, 1943, she is pictured waiting as a Los Angeles police officer writes up a parking ticket. — A hit-and-run crash in Lucerne Valley killed three girls and critically injured another. The four pedestrians were in the north lane of Camp Rock Road, north of Rabbit Springs Road, around 10:20 p.m. when a pickup driving in the same direction struck them from behind. — A COVID-19 vaccination site opened at downtown Los Angeles’ Union Station as the effort to get shots into more residents’ arms ramped up ahead of the state’s planned reopening next week. — A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with assault and evidence tampering stemming from an arrest she made in Lancaster two years ago. — A registered sex offender who was set free by a Los Angeles County judge in 2018 because of a 17-year delay in his trial has now been arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing three children in Tulare County, records show. Support our journalism Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. — Spain jump-started its summer tourism season by welcoming vaccinated visitors from most countries and European tourists who can prove they are not infected with the coronavirus. It also reopened its ports to cruise ships. — For months, President Biden has laid out goal after goal for taming the COVID-19 pandemic and then exceeded his own benchmarks. Now, though, the U.S. is unlikely to meet his target to have 70% of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4. — The chief executive of the massive fuel pipeline hit by ransomware last month told senators that authorizing a multimillion-dollar payment to hackers was the right thing to do to bring an end to fuel shortages affecting much of the eastern United States, even as authorities have discouraged such payments. — The Senate approved a sweeping effort to fortify the nation’s ability to compete with China’s economic and political ambitions by shoveling billions of dollars into scientific research and American manufacturing across several industries, including artificial intelligence, robotics and wireless service. — Anthony Ramos spoke briefly with Lin-Manuel Miranda before succeeding him as the star of “In the Heights.” This week, he transported “Tonight Show” viewers to the room where it happened. — Mourners of the “Madea” franchise can take off their black veils. Tyler Perry is rebooting it with a 12th installment, “A Madea Homecoming,” for Netflix after saying goodbye to the iconic character in 2019. — Frank Sinatra’s newest biographer says the late singer can’t be Ronan Farrow’s biological father because former spouses Sinatra and Mia Farrow couldn’t have worked out the logistics around the time of conception. — Alyssa Milano, the veteran of TV shows including “Who’s the Boss?,” “Charmed” and “Insatiable,” has her eye on a congressional seat in California. — The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has hired Adel Hagekhalil as its next general manager, following a bitter power struggle over the future of an agency that delivers hundreds of billions of gallons each year from the Colorado River and Northern California to a region that otherwise wouldn’t have nearly enough water to support 19 million people. — Skateboarding star and San Clemente native Ryan Sheckler just closed a sale in his hometown, unloading his coastal home a few blocks from the beach for $3 million in an off-market deal. — The Clippers lost Game 1 of their second-round NBA playoff series when the Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell scored 45 points. — The Nuggets’ big man, Nikola Jokic, was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for 2020-21, making him by far the lowest draft pick ever to win the award. — Walker Buehler shut down the Pirates as the Dodgers won to end a two-game skid, while Shohei Ohtani hit the longest home run of his MLB career as the Angels powered past the Royals. Free online games Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games in our new game center at latimes.com/games. — Should women remain exempt from the draft? The Supreme Court took a pass on deciding but shouldn’t have, columnist Robin Abcarian writes. — Biden needs bolder, more creative answers to Central American migration. “The daily crises that lead so many people to decide that the dangerous trek to the border is a safer alternative to staying put will not be easy to solve,” writes The Times’ editorial board. — ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth — sometimes, even nothing. (ProPublica) — The federal government often gives less help to Black disaster survivors than their white neighbors. That’s a challenge for Biden, who has vowed to fight inequality and climate change. (The New York Times) Should we really worry about ticks on L.A. beaches, and what can we do to stay safe? For years, hikers have worried about ticks and the Lyme disease they can transmit. Based on fieldwork in the San Francisco Bay Area, a new study has some scientists thinking that there may be more disease-carrying ticks near beaches than we thought. What preventive measures can you take? County and state public health websites include these and other tips. Comments or ideas? Email us at headlines@latimes.com.

Apple previews new software for iPhone and other gadgets

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-06-07/apple-previews-new-software-for-iphone-other-gadgets

Apple kicked off its second annual all-virtual developer conference with a keynote that outlined new updates to its software for iPhones and other devices. The presentation highlighted more privacy options for paid iCloud accounts and a Find My service that helps track down errant AirPods but included no major product announcements. The latest renovations in Apple’s $2-trillion empire come at a pivotal time for the Cupertino, Calif., company. Apple is facing legal and regulatory threats to its control over its App Store, a so-called “walled garden” that produces substantial profits for the company. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, and other executives outlined updates to software for Apple’s many devices, including MacBooks, iMacs, iPhone, iPad and Watch. Apple’s new MacOS software, dubbed Monterey, supports what Apple calls “universal control,” which lets people use one mouse and keyboard to control an iMac desktop computer, MacBook laptop and iPad at the same time. Forrester analyst Julie Ask said the improvements Apple showed off, such as universal control, played to Apple’s strengths in blending its products and services. “The news today was nothing ‘new new,’ like, ‘Holy cow. How did they make that happen?’” she said. “But each of us picks up our phone 100 or 200 times a day, and they’re making 100 little moments a day better, more seamless and easier.” Business In a high-stakes lawsuit the could have big implication for apps and mobile gaming, Epic Games has at times seemed to help make Apple’s case as much as its own. May 9, 2021 She pointed out Apple’s plan to support digital IDs including driver’s licenses and state IDs from “participating U.S. states” in its digital wallet as another example. Apple did not identify which states that would include. “They have an army of people trying to get these deals signed,” she said. “Apple gets a lot of criticism for being so controlling. But they can do things other big brands struggle to do.” A “live text” feature in iOS 15 will let you highlight text in photos and copy and paste it or look it up online. It will also integrate AirPods into its Find My service, which helps people find lost or misplaced Apple products. Apple is introducing more privacy features to its paid iCloud plans, including a way to hide your email address, the ability to encrypt video, and a Private Relay feature of Safari that encrypts data from the web browser similar to a VPN. Paid plan pricing isn’t changing. Users pay for any iCloud storage above the 5 gigabytes offered for free. In the U.S., those plans start at $1 a month for 50 GB of storage. Apple didn’t announce when iOS 15 would be available, but the company traditionally releases the free updates to all compatible iPhones in September.

Clarence Williams III, 'Mod Squad' star and Prince's dad in 'Purple Rain,' dies at 81

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-06-06/clarence-williams-iii-the-mod-squads-linc-dies-at-81

Clarence Williams III, who played the cool undercover cop Linc Hayes on the counterculture series “The Mod Squad” and Prince’s father in “Purple Rain,” has died. He was 81. Williams died Friday at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with colon cancer, his manager Allan Mindel said Sunday. Williams’ career spanned over five decades in theater, television and film. A native of New York, he was born into a creative family in 1939 and raised by his musical grandparents. His grandfather was a jazz composer and pianist, his father a musician and his mother, Eva Taylor, a singer and actress. He got his acting start on Broadway after a stint as a paratrooper and received a Tony nomination for his role in William Hanley’s “Slow Dance on the Killing Ground” in 1964. His breakout role would come with “The Mod Squad,” which he led with Peggy Lipton and Michael Cole. Bill Cosby had seen Williams perform and told Aaron Spelling he should consider him for the role of Linc. The show ran on ABC from 1968 through 1973. A trailblazing show for attempting to portray the hippie generation of the time, “The Mod Squad” was a star-maker for all three. But roles were not quick to follow for Williams. Television Before he became famous as hippie cop Link Hayes on the 1968-73 ABC series “The Mod Squad,” Clarence Williams III was a well-respected stage actor. Feb. 27, 1994 He appeared on Broadway opposite Maggie Smith in Tom Stoppard’s “Night and Day” in 1979 before getting cast as the troubled father in “Purple Rain,” which came out in 1984. Director John Frankenheimer would become a frequent collaborator. They first teamed up for his adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s “52 Pick-Up” at a time when Williams was not having much luck in Hollywood and crashing on Cosby’s couch to keep a roof over his head. “He asked me to read for the part of one of the blackmailers, but after only four lines, he told me to stop,” Williams recalled in a 1999 interview. “I thought it was all over, but he said, ‘Have your agent call me. It will be a 10-week shoot. Thank you for coming in.’ That was it.” Williams also appeared in Frankenheimer’s “Against the Wall,” “Reindeer Games” and some episodes of “Tales From the Crypt.” Williams could command a variety of genres, including comedy. He played a drug lord opposite Dave Chappelle in “Half Baked” and stole scenes in Keenen Ivory Wayans’ blaxploitation parody film “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka.” He also had a recurring role as the FBI agent in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” who tells Agent Cooper he’s been suspended. Williams never fretted over his longtime association with “The Mod Squad.” “All most people know about me is the two hours they’ve invested in a movie theater or the time spent in front of their TV,” he said in an interview in 1999. “There’s so much entertainment out there right now, it’s difficult to break through and become part of the national consciousness. It’s nice to be recognized, and I have no problem with it at all.” He was married to the actress Gloria Foster from 1967 to 1984.

‘Conjuring 3’ tops ‘A Quiet Place' sequel as moviegoing returns

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-06-06/conjuring-3-tops-a-quiet-place-2-as-moviegoing-returns

The domestic box office is getting back to normal, with moderate wins and sizable second-weekend drops. After its triumphant first weekend, “A Quiet Place Part II” fell 59% at the North American box office, leaving room for the third movie in the “Conjuring” franchise to take first place. Warner Bros.’ “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” earned an estimated $24 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, making it the biggest R-rated opening of the pandemic. Paramount’s “A Quiet Place” sequel meanwhile earned $19.5 million in ticket sales, bringing its domestic total to $88.6 million. “You normally don’t see two horror movies at the top of the chart. But it was a solid weekend for both movies,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “The movie theaters are coming back, and Memorial Day was no flash in the pan. ... It feels like summer again.” “The Conjuring 3” has Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga returning as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Although there’s a whole extended universe set around these films, which have thus far grossed over $1.8 billion, this is the first “Conjuring” since 2016 and the first to be helmed by someone other than James Wan (Michael Graves directed). With an additional $26.8 million from international territories, globally, the R-rated pic has grossed over $57.1 million. Movies Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga may be the Nick and Nora of horror, but “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” lacks the surprise of its predecessors. May 26, 2021 “It’s a terrific result,” said Jeff Goldstein, the head of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. “We’re continuing to see a ramp-up of return to life outside of our homes. It was never going to be a light switch.” In a pre-pandemic world, “The Conjuring 3” might have been considered a bit disappointing — the previous installments both opened around $40 million. But, as Goldstein noted, the third film in a horror franchise often takes a hit. It has another caveat: The film is currently streaming free for subscribers on HBO Max. Warner Media did not say how many people watched it on streaming over the weekend or how many new customers had signed up for the service. It has become more normal for films to embrace a hybrid day-and-date release strategy, with the major studios using their biggest titles to drive potential subscribers to their streaming services. “A Quiet Place Part II” had the rare distinction of being exclusively in theaters, but even so it will be a shorter stint than usual before it hits Paramount+. Movies For the origin story ‘Cruella,’ director Craig Gillespie and costume designer Jenny Beavan drew inspiration from iconoclast designers and punk rock. May 28, 2021 The Walt Disney Co.’s “Cruella,” which opened in theaters last weekend, was also made available to rent on Disney+ for $29.99. The Emma Stone and Emma Thompson pic added $11.2 million from 3,922 theaters this weekend to take third place. Disney also did not say how much it earned from streaming rentals, but the company did note the drop from last weekend was only 48%. Globally, “Cruella” has earned $87.1 million thus far. The animated family film “Spirit Untamed” also opened wide theatrically this weekend in 3,211 theaters to an estimated $6.2 million. The DreamWorks Animation film features the voices of Isabela Merced, Eiza González, Julianne Moore, Marsai Martin and Jake Gyllenhaal. Most family films have gone straight to streaming over the past year, and many big studios are opting to continue with the strategy for the near future. Disney and Pixar’s “Luca” is skipping theaters and going straight to Disney+, where it will be free for subscribers on June 16. DreamWorks Animation’s “Boss Baby” sequel is also debuting on Peacock Kids and in theaters on July 2. The North American theatrical landscape is still a bit hobbled by the pandemic. Most Canadian theaters remain closed, and around 27% of U.S. locations are still shuttered. Many chains have said vaccinated customers could now go mask-free in theaters. Hollywood titles have started performing better internationally than they have been during the pandemic over the past few weekends. In particular, Universal’s latest in the “Fast & Furious” franchise, “F9,” continued to pick up speed prior to its U.S. debut on June 25. This weekend “F9,” which has already grossed $256 million from eight territories, became one of only 19 U.S. movies to have earned more than $200 million in China. And although release strategies continue to differ company by company in unprecedented ways, Dergarabedian said the numbers were promising for the theatrical business even with the at-home viewing options. “Over the past two weeks, the industry has been able to test out theatrical-only [“A Quiet Place Part II”], a day and date with a [pay] subscription model [“Cruella”] and a day and date that’s part of a subscription [“The Conjuring 3”]. The numbers have been solid,” Dergarabedian said. “As long as we keep getting solid movies released, we’re going to see the box office ramp up week after week.” Following are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” $24 million. 2. “A Quiet Place Part II,” $19.5 million. 3. “Cruella,” $11.2 million. 4. “Spirit Untamed,” $6.2 million. 5. “Raya and the Last Dragon,” $1.3 million. 6. “Wrath of Man,” $1.3 million. 7. “Spiral,” $890,000. 8. “Godzilla vs. Kong,” $463,000. 9. “Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train,” $450,000. 10. “Dream Horse,” $230,053.

Drought ravages California's reservoirs ahead of hot summer

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-06-03/drought-ravages-californias-reservoirs-ahead-of-hot-summer

Each year Lake Oroville helps water a quarter of the nation’s crops, sustain endangered salmon beneath its massive earthen dam and anchor the tourism economy of a Northern California county that must rebuild seemingly every year after unrelenting wildfires. But now the mighty lake — a linchpin in a system of aqueducts and reservoirs in the arid U.S. West that makes California possible — is shrinking with surprising speed amid a severe drought, with state officials predicting it will reach a record low this summer. While droughts are common in California, this year’s is much hotter and drier than others, evaporating water more quickly from the reservoirs and the sparse Sierra Nevada snowpack that feeds them. The state’s more than 1,500 reservoirs are 50% lower than they should be this time of year, said Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis. Over Memorial Day weekend, dozens of houseboats sat on cinder blocks at Lake Oroville because there wasn’t enough water to hold them. Blackened trees lined the reservoir’s steep, parched banks. In nearby Folsom Lake, normally bustling boat docks rested on dry land, their buoys warning phantom boats to slow down. Campers occupied dusty riverbanks farther north at Shasta Lake. Climate & Environment As the San Joaquin Valley braces for yet another season of drought, some growers are openly questioning the future of farming here. April 26, 2021 But the effects of dwindling reservoirs go beyond luxury yachts and weekend anglers. Salmon need cold water from the bottom of the reservoirs to spawn. The San Francisco Bay needs fresh water from the reservoirs to keep out the salt water that harms freshwater fish. Farmers need the water to irrigate their crops. Businesses need reservoirs full so people will come play in them and spend money. And everyone needs the water to run hydroelectric power plants that supply much of the state’s energy. If Lake Oroville falls below 640 feet — which it could do by late August — state officials would shut down a major power plant for just the second time ever because of low water levels, straining the electrical grid during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer. In Northern California’s Butte County, low water prompts another emotion: fear. The county suffered the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century in 2018 when 85 people died. Last year, 16 more people died in a wildfire. Walking along the Bidwell Canyon trail last week, 63-year-old Lisa Larson was supposed to have a good view of the lake. Instead, she saw withered grass and trees. “It makes me feel like our planet is literally drying up,” she said. “It makes me feel a little unsettled because the drier it gets, the more fires we are going to have.” Droughts are a part of life in California, where a Mediterranean-style climate means the summers are always dry and the winters are not always wet. The state’s reservoirs act as a savings account, storing water in the wet years to help the state survive during the dry ones. Last year was the third driest year on record in terms of precipitation. Temperatures hit triple digits in much of California over the Memorial Day weekend, earlier than expected. State officials were surprised earlier this year when about 500,000 acre-feet of water they were expecting to flow into reservoirs never showed up. One acre-foot is enough water to supply up to two households for one year. “In the previous drought, it took [the reservoirs] three years to get this low as they are in the second year of this drought,” Lund said. The lake’s record low is 646 feet, but the state Department of Water Resources projects it will dip below that sometime in August or September. If that happens, the state will have to close the boat ramps for the first time ever because of low water levels, said Aaron Wright, public safety chief for the Northern Buttes District of California State Parks. The only boat access to the lake would be an old dirt road that was built during the dam’s construction in the late 1960s. “We have a reservoir up there that’s going to be not usable. And so now what?” said Eric Smith, an Oroville City Council member and president of its Chamber of Commerce. The water level is so low at Lake Mendocino — a reservoir along the Russian River in Northern California — that state officials last week reduced the amount of water heading to 930 farmers, businesses and other junior water rights holders. Climate & Environment The choice of Adel Hagekhalil to lead the Metropolitan Water District is exposing deep disagreements. May 26, 2021 “Unless we immediately reduce diversions, there is a real risk of Lake Mendocino emptying by the end of this year,” said Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for the State Water Boards’ Division of Water Rights. Low water levels across California will severely limit how much power the state can generate from hydroelectric power plants. When Lake Oroville is full, the Edward Hyatt Power Plant and others nearby can generate up to 900 megawatts of power, said Behzad Soltanzadeh, chief of utility operations for the Department of Water Resources. One megawatt is enough to power 800 to 1,000 homes. That has some local officials worrying about power outages, especially after the state ran out of energy last summer during an extreme heat wave that prompted California’s first rotating blackouts in 20 years. But energy officials say they are better prepared this summer, having obtained an additional 3,500 megawatts of capacity ahead of the scorching summer months. The low levels are challenging for tourism officials. Bruce Spangler, president of the board of directors for Explore Butte County, grew up in Oroville and has fond memories of fishing with his grandfather and learning to launch and drive a boat before he could drive a car. But this summer, his organization has to be careful about how it markets the lake while managing visitors’ expectations, he said. “We have to be sure we don’t promise something that can’t be,” he said. Low lake levels haven’t stopped tourists from coming yet. With coronavirus restrictions lifting across the state, Wright, the state parks official for Northern California, said attendance at most parks in his area is double what it normally is this time of year. “People are trying to recreate and use facilities even more so [because] they know they are going to lose them here in a few months,” he said.

Letters to the Editor: Don't judge me because I collect a pension. I earned that money

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-05-30/dont-judge-me-because-i-collect-a-pension

To the editor: I have a pension and sometimes encounter people who express deep resentment toward retirees like me. They seem to think we are freeloaders or worse. (“We loved our pensions. Then our employers took them away. How was that allowed to happen?” Opinion, May 19) I have always thought of my pension as deferred compensation, since I worked in the public sector for less than I could have earned in the private sector. I feel no guilt about my pension, because I worked in an income-generating office where my personal projects brought between $80,000 and $100,000 per year. Because of a disability, I had to take an early retirement. Thanks to my pension and the so-called entitlement program of Social Security, I am able to live frugally and expect to die long before I become a burden on society. Remember, folks: If you’re judging, you don’t have all the facts. Margaret Hamilton, Portland .. To the editor: Nicholas Goldberg is correct when he asserts one of the reasons for the collapse of the traditional defined-benefit plans was the financial risk to the companies due to the inherent challenge in determining the “projected benefit obligation.” An actuary can assist with this determination, but is unable to predict the frequency and amount of future raises and promotions. In addition, the traditional plans are subject to “pension spiking,” which allows employees to artificially inflate their compensation just before they retire. As a result, traditional defined-benefit plans are much more expensive than modern 401(k)-type, defined-contribution plans. These additional and unpredictable costs have led to the underfunding of public employee pension funds. In short, the traditional plans have faded primarily due to their higher cost in an increasingly competitive global market. Michael Roach, La Habra .. To the editor: What about rescuing Social Security? It can invest only in low-yielding government securities. Let it copy the investment strategy of all other pension funds. For instance, the California State Teachers Retirement System holds a modern diversified portfolio with bonds, stocks and commercial real estate. Because it puts its money to work better, its payout rate is much higher than Social Security’s. Making this change would be like getting free money. And, from the greater cash flow received, the taxes funding Social Security could be lowered. With the decline of private pensions, why has this obvious solution been ignored? Raymond Freeman, Thousand Oaks

Actor Danny Masterson must stand trial on 3 rape charges

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-05-21/actor-danny-masterson-must-stand-trial-on-3-rape-charges

A judge on Friday said “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson must stand trial on three counts of rape. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo made the determination in the fourth day of a preliminary hearing during which the prosecution laid out evidence. That included dramatic and emotional testimony from three women who took the stand to say that Masterson raped them in 2001 and 2003. Olmedo said she found the women’s testimony credible for the purposes of a preliminary hearing, where the bar for sufficient evidence is much lower than at trial. Masterson has denied the charges. His attorney, Thomas Mesereau, said Masterson had consensual sex with the women and that he would prove his client’s innocence. Mesereau declined to comment on the judge’s decision outside court. During the hearing, Mesereau repeatedly challenged the women on discrepancies in their stories in the years since they said they were raped and suggested that the prosecution was tainted by anti-religious bias against the Church of Scientology. California One of three women to accuse actor Danny Masterson of rape testified about the alleged assault and said the Church of Scientology tried to discourage her from reporting the incident to police. May 19, 2021 Masterson is a prominent Scientologist, all three women are former Scientologists and the church and its teachings came up constantly during testimony. The judge said she found the women’s explanations credible that church teachings kept them from reporting their accusations to police for years. The 45-year-old actor has been free on bail since his June arrest. He is charged with three counts of rape by force or fear and could get up to 45 years in prison if convicted. The forthcoming trial represents the rare prosecution of a Hollywood figure in the #MeToo era despite dozens of investigations by police and the Los Angeles County district attorney, most of which have ended without charges. The allegations happened at the height of Masterson’s fame, when he starred as Steven Hyde on Fox TV’s retro sitcom “That ’70s Show” from 1998 to 2006 alongside Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace. He had reunited with Kutcher on the Netflix Western sitcom “The Ranch” when the Los Angeles Police Department investigation of him was revealed in March 2017. The news did not have immediate career repercussions for Masterson, but later in the year, after allegations against Harvey Weinstein shook Hollywood, he was written off the show.

'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' author Eric Carle dies at 91

https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-05-26/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-author-eric-carle-dies-at-91

Eric Carle, the beloved children’s author and illustrator whose classic “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and other works gave millions of kids some of their earliest and most cherished literary memories, has died at age 91. Carle’s family says he died Sunday at his summer studio in Northampton, Massachusetts, with family members at his side. The family’s announcement was issued by Penguin Young Leaders. Through books like “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” “Do You Want to Be My Friend?” and “From Head to Toe,” Carle introduced universal themes in simple words and bright colors. “The unknown often brings fear with it,” he once observed. “In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun.” “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” published in 1969, was welcomed by parents and delighted kids with its story of the metamorphosis of a green and red caterpillar with a touch of blue and brown to a proudly multi-colored butterfly. Originally conceived as a book about a bookworm — called “A Week with Willi the Worm” — the hero, who eats through 26 different foods, was changed to a caterpillar on the advice of his editor. It has sold some 40 million copies and has been translated into 60 languages, spawned stuffed animal caterpillars and has been turned into a stage play. “I remember that as a child, I always felt I would never grow up and be big and articulate and intelligent,” Carle told The New York Times in 1994. ”`Caterpillar’ is a book of hope: you, too, can grow up and grow wings.” Politicians like George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton were known to read the book to children on the campaign trail. The American Academy of Pediatrics sent more than 17,000 pediatricians special copies of the book, along with growth charts and parent handouts on healthy eating. Fellow writer and illustrator Ted Dewan called the book one of the pillars of children’s culture. “It’s almost talking about how great the Beatles were. It’s beyond reproach,” he said. Carle wrote and-or illustrated more than 75 books, sometimes partnering with Bill Martin Jr. or other authors, but most with Carle working alone. One of his last books was 2015′s “The Nonsense Show,” which centered on a parade of flying fish, cat-taming mice and circus animals. Born to German immigrant parents in Syracuse, New York, Carle and his family returned to Germany — Nazi Germany, at the time —- when he was 6. Under the Nazis, modern, expressionistic and abstract art was banned and only realistic and naturalistic art was permitted. When Carle was 12 or 13, a high school art teacher would change his life by inviting him to his home, where he secretly showed his expressionist art, including Franz Marc’s “Blue Horse.” “I was used to pretty paintings with a mountain in the background. Although I was shocked, I always carried that day in my heart,” Carle told NPR in 2011. As an illustrator, he said he chose to portray animals in unconventional colors to show his young readers that in art, there is no wrong color. He thanked Marc in the pages of “The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse.” His signature illustration technique was done by piecing pictures together chiefly from tissue paper that he had painted with various colors and textures. “It sounds corny, but I think I connect with the child in me, and I think others do, too,” he told The Associated Press in 2003. His father introduced him to the wonders of the living creatures that he would later immortalize in his books. “When I was a small child, as far back as I can remember, he would take me by the hand and we would go out in nature,” he told The New York Times in 1994. “And he would show me worms and bugs and bees and ants and explain their lives to me. It was a very loving relationship.” The theme of kids mastering the world was tackled in other tales of critters with “very” big predicaments: “The Very Busy Spider,” “The Very Quiet Cricket,” “The Very Lonely Firefly” and “Friends.” The love of family was explored in such books as “Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me,” 1986; and “Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?” from 2000. After graduating from a leading German art school, he returned to the United States in 1952. He worked as a graphic designer in the promotion department of The New York Times before switching to advertising. It was Martin who spotted Carle’s talents and brought him into the publishing field. Carle was working as an art director for an advertising agency at the time; Martin had just written “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” and needed an illustrator. “While waiting for a dentist appointment, I came across an ad he had done that featured a Maine lobster,” Martin, who died in 2004, told the AP in 2003. “The art was so striking that I knew instantly that I had found my artist!” The book, which introduces colors and animals to young readers, came out in 1967 and became a perennial bestseller. Their other joint works were 1991′s “Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?” and 2003′s “Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?” In 2002, Carle and his late wife, Barbara Carle, founded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Based in Amherst, Massachusetts, the nonprofit, 40,000-square-foot arts center is a showcase for picture book illustrations from around the world. He received lifetime achievement awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Library Association. He is survived by a son and a daughter.

Exxon shareholders vote to replace at least two board members in climate fight

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-05-26/exxon-at-least-2-board-members-lose-seats-in-climate-fight

Exxon Mobil’s shareholders have voted to replace at least two of the company’s 12 board members with directors who are seen as better suited to fight climate change, bolster Exxon’s finances and guide it through a transition to cleaner energy. The results, which Exxon called preliminary, were announced by the company after its annual shareholder meeting Wednesday. Exxon said that because the complexities of the voting process, inspectors might not be able to certify final voting results for “some period of time.” It was unclear whether one additional board member was also unseated in the shareholder vote. Regardless of the final tally, the outcome represents a setback for Exxon’s leadership. It coincides with growing pressure on publicly traded companies to more urgently revamp their businesses to address what critics see as a intensifying global crisis. The dissident slate of directors was proposed by a hedge fund called Engine No. 1, which asserted that Exxon’s current board was ill-equipped to handle the transformations that are reshaping the energy sector. Business Exxon Mobil shareholders may force change on the giant oil company, starting this week. May 26, 2021 The two candidates whom Exxon said shareholders elected from the Engine No. 1 slate were Gregory Goff, a former CEO of Andeavor, a petroleum refining and marketing company formerly known as Tesoro; and Kaisa Hietala, a former executive vice president of renewable products at Neste. In that position, Hietala was credited with boosting the company’s renewable diesel and jet fuel offerings. Exxon said it had not yet determined whether a third dissident board candidate put forward by Engine No. 1, Alexander Karsner, had also been elected. Karsner, a senior strategist at X, Alphabet Inc.’s innovation lab, has been an investor in energy infrastructure and clean-technology startups. The alternative directors put forward by the hedge fund were also backed by many of the nation’s most powerful institutional investors. The vote reflected a broader push among consumers, investors and government leaders to pivot away from fossil fuels and invest in a future in which energy needs are increasingly met with renewable sources. The investors who backed the alternative slate of board members had complained that compared with some other oil giants, Exxon has failed to commit itself sufficiently to cleaner energy, from wind, solar or other sources. Companies sometimes work with dissident shareholders to accept suggested changes to boards. Exxon, though, had resisted the challenge. It argued that it was already committed to addressing the climate crisis, with plans to add new board members, including one with expertise in climate change. It has also highlighted its plan, still in the early stages, to use the Houston Ship Channel to capture and store carbon dioxide offshore. The company also said it was satisfied with its existing directors. “Our current board of directors is among the strongest in the corporate world,” said Darren Woods, chairman and CEO of Exxon, adding that the board provided exceptional guidance during a particularly tough period for the industry. Among other problems, oil companies have struggled since the viral pandemic significantly reduced demand for fuel. Exxon lost $22 billion in 2020 and reported its largest-ever losses in the fourth quarter. Across the economy, climate-related initiatives are gaining momentum in corporate boardrooms. At least 25 climate-related shareholder proposals made it onto shareholder ballots this year. Those that had been voted on before the Exxon vote received support from 59% of shareholders on average, according to Institutional Shareholder Services. That is up substantially from 2015, when Glass Lewis, a firm that advises institutional investors, reviewed 14 shareholder proposals that sought additional disclosures on climate-related issues, such as the financial risks posed by a changing climate or by climate-related regulations. None of them succeeded. In 2017, there were 21 such shareholder proposals that went to a vote; three received over 50% approval, Glass Lewis said.

Grammys change the rules for album of the year award

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2021-05-26/grammys-change-rules-for-album-of-the-year-award

The Recording Academy has updated its rules for the album of the year Grammy, giving more producers and songwriters a better chance at winning the top award. The academy announced Wednesday that any producer, songwriter, engineer or featured artist on an album nominated for album of the year will also earn a nomination — even if the music creator co-wrote one song on the 10-track project. Before the change, songwriters or producers would need to be credited with at least 33% or more playing time on the album to be eligible for nomination — a rule implemented in 2017. The new change reflects how the Grammys handled album of the year before 2017, when producers, engineers or featured artists would earn a nomination for album of the year even if they worked on one song. Songwriters were not included at that time, and were added when the 2017 change was introduced. Now that all songwriters on an album could earn a nomination, the academy can expect a larger number of nominees for each of the eight albums competing for album of the year. For instance, if Justin Bieber’s “Justice” is nominated at the 2022 show, more than 50 creators will be nominated for the project. If Ariana Grande’s “Positions” earns a nod, more than 35 people would be nominated for the album. J. Cole’s “The Off-Season” or Bad Bunny’s “El Último Tour Del Mundo” would give more than 20 participants an album of the year nomination. Television With host Trevor Noah at the helm, Sunday’s telecast proved less is more as the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shakeup — and breathed new life into the form. March 14, 2021 That’s in contrast to albums like Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” which features songs written by the young star and her brother Finneas, who also produces all of her tracks. Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour,” which is expected to debut at No. 1 next week — also features a tight group of a collaborators that wouldn’t fall in to the double digits like Bieber or Grande’s album. That distinction of using less collaborators could benefit Eilish and Rodrigo at the Grammys, and it begs the question: Would voters rather award 50 players for album of the year, or eight? The change greatly effects rap, R&B and some pop albums — where songwriters and producers typically vary throughout the project, as opposed to country and rock albums, where fewer creators are present. While the change gives rap and R&B producers and songwriters a stronger chance at earning a Grammy nomination, a chance at actually winning the top award seems less possible. The change is especially great since contemporary songs feature a large number of songwriters. The Top 10 songs on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart feature Bieber’s “Peaches,” a hit written by 10 songwriters; nine writers are credited for Doja Cat and SZA’s “Kiss Me More”; and The Weeknd and Grande’s “Save Your Tears” was crafted by six writers. Other songs in the Top 10 feature less writers — Rodrigo and Daniel Nigro wrote “Good 4 U,” currently No. 1 on the chart, and J. Cole is the sole writer behind “amari,” at No. 5. The announcement comes a month after the academy voted to remove its nomination review committees — anonymous groups that determined the contenders for key awards at the Grammys. For the 2022 Grammys, songs and album released between Sept. 1, 2020 and Sept. 30, 2021 are eligible for nomination.

L.A. Times Captures 15 Honors, Including Best in Show, in the National Headliner Awards

https://www.latimes.com/about/pressreleases/story/2021-05-13/l-a-times-captures-15-honors-including-best-in-show-in-the-national-headliner-awards

The Los Angeles Times has won 15 awards, plus best in show in the National Headliner Awards competition. The awards were announced on Wednesday, May 12. Founded in 1934 by the Press Club of Atlantic City, the National Headliner Awards is one of the oldest and largest annual contests recognizing outstanding journalism. Among the honors, Times Foreign Correspondent and Photographer Marcus Yam and the late Photo Editor Alan Hagman took both first place and best in show for Yam’s photography portfolio, “The Long Road: An Exodus from Venezuela,” which chronicled the trek of a group of Venezuelan migrants. The competition’s judges called the photographs “powerful” and noted that the portfolio “captures layers of agony on human sufferings. Each image was compelling and storytelling.” In addition, National Correspondent Kurtis Lee won first place in the news series category for his stories about how the country’s largest Native American reservation was mounting a frantic effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The judges called the series “a well-told tale, that is at once, both startling and heartwarming.” In the course of his reporting, Lee said he was “amazed by the resilience and openness” of the people he met, including a Navajo Nation police officer and two contact tracers who traveled hundreds of miles to slow the spread of the virus. He marveled that, “During one of the most stressful times of their life, they allowed me to observe their lives.” Below is a list of The Times’ honorees by category. News series in daily newspapers top 20 media market First Place: Kurtis Lee, “A Native American community and a virus” Breaking news in daily newspapers, all sizes Second Place: Los Angeles Times staff, “Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna among 9 dead in helicopter crash in Calabasas” International news beat coverage or continuing story by an individual or team Third Place: Shashank Bengali, “The Thai monarchy in crisis” Local interest column on a variety of subjects Third Place: LZ Granderson Education writing by an individual or team First Place: Los Angeles Times staff, “The new reality of school” Environmental writing by an individual or team Second Place: Rosanna Xia, “A toxic secret lurks in deep sea” Investigative reporting in newspapers in top 20 media market Second Place: Kiera Feldman, “Fumed out” Public service in newspapers in top 20 media market Third Place: Los Angeles Times staff, “Our Reckoning With Racism” Sports action or sports feature photography First Place: Wally Skalij, “An emotional tribute to Kobe Bryant” Second Place: Robert Gauthier, “Champs” Third Place: Robert Gauthier, “Freeze Tag” Individual photo portfolio First Place and Best in Show: Marcus Yam and Alan Hagman, “The Long Road: An Exodus from Venezuela” Second Place: Robert Gauthier Online video up to three minutes First Place: Steve Saldivar, “Surviving the shutdown: Among the L.A. taqueros” Online video 10 to 30 minutes Third Place: Jackeline Luna, Maggie Beidelman and Tyrone Beason, “How a nearly all-white Iowa city is trying to shed its racist image” To view the full list of winners, visit www.headlinerawards.org.

Roosevelt Hotel's cocktail bar is morphing into the Spare Room ... Somewhere Else, poolside

https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2021-05-12/roosevelt-hotels-cocktail-bar-is-morphing-into-the-spare-room-somewhere-else-poolside

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s lauded cocktail bar, the Spare Room, is scheduled to return May 13 in a new space and with a new alfresco setup. The Spare Room ... Somewhere Else will bring the bar’s games, activity books and cocktails outdoors near the pool, and will add a menu of Italian-leaning small plates in addition to a few new drinks. The Spare Room’s usual location (complete with bowling alley) remains closed, save for private events. The Spare Room ... Somewhere Else is open evenings, Wednesday to Sunday. 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 769-7296, spareroomhollywood.com/somewhereelse Comedian and restaurateur George Lopez is launching a delivery-only concept in June. In partnership with virtual-restaurant company Nextbite, George Lopez Tacos is set to offer street tacos with carnitas and other meats, as well as desserts such as churro bites. Delivery will be available beginning June 8 throughout Los Angeles, as well as San Diego, San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, Seattle and other cities. lopeztacos.com At Soulmate, a new West Hollywood restaurant helmed by executive chef Rudy Lopez, the Spanish Mediterranean menu includes dishes such as wood-fired octopus with charred romesco; paella with seafood and chorizo; chicken croquettes with brava sauce; and hanger steak with chimichurri butter. The beverage program is headed by bar director Naomi Schimek (formerly of the Spare Room) and uses native California herbs and produce in its cocktails. Open for dinner nightly, with dine-in seating spread across a 7,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor space. 631 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 734-7764, soulmateweho.com Prime Pizza is now open in West L.A., offering its signature New York-style round pies and crispy-edged square pies, plus by-the-slice options, chicken wings, garlic knots and salads. The newest location of the local chain — which also operates in Little Tokyo, Burbank and Fairfax — offers limited indoor seating and parking. Open Tuesday to Saturday for dinner, with lunch, daily service and delivery to follow. 12219 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 330-3222, primepizza.la Some of Italy’s most colorful burgers are now in Los Angeles. The international plant-based chain that dyes its buns with natural ingredients such as turmeric, spirulina, beetroot powder and cherry extract is running a delivery concept out of a Culver City ghost kitchen. This summer, a Flower Burger restaurant is set to open in West Hollywood. The vegan menu offers burgers with a range of patties that can include lentils, rice, chickpeas, oats and other ingredients; sides such as potato wedges and edamame; and a dessert of chocolate salami (sans meat, of course). Order via the website. flowerburger.us A new fish-and-chips pop-up from three industry vets is taking over the back patio of Echo Park’s Sticky Rice, pairing fish sandwiches, loaded fries and fish and chips with tropical cocktails from the restaurant’s bar, Spirit House. Chef James Seitz (Konbi), chef Jae Hee Lee (Laurel Hardware) and operations manager Justin Hodgson (formerly of White Guy Pad Thai) operate from noon to 4 p.m. — or until they sell out — every first and third Sunday of the month. Don’t eat fish? Look for a vegan option of fried banana blossom, which gets marinated in mirin and spices for 12 hours. 1801 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, instagram.com/lazy.js

How many high school students will come back in the fall? Dismal return rate raises alarms

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-05-11/alarming-7-percent-lausd-high-schoolers-back-open-campuses

Only 7% of high school students and 12% of middle school students have returned to reopened campuses in the Los Angeles school district, sounding alarms about what these figures portend for next fall and highlighting the need for intense intervention when more traditional in-person schooling resumes. As the school year winds down with the vast majority of students at home online, an uncertain summer and fall back-to-school future is emerging: How soon will families be ready to return children to campus? Will many demand an online option? Will students attend summer school to stem learning loss? For state Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), the return data denote a crisis. “It’s tragic for the future of those students and tragic for the future of California,” said O’Donnell, who chairs the Assembly Education Committee. “It means students are not receiving in-classroom instruction — where they learn best. What does this mean for the fall?” Although officials insist they will act aggressively to help students, the low return rate could intensify pressure on the school district. California COVID fears and restrictive part-time campus schedules contribute to the low numbers. Officials hope those students who need the most help are returning. May 10, 2021 Even after L.A. Unified instituted some of the most extensive safety measures in the nation, it was not enough for many families still fearful of the pandemic. Others, especially high school students, rejected the strict limitations on movement, instruction, enrichment activities and socializing and opted to stay with distance learning. For many, the gradual reopenings from mid- to late April were too little, too late — and families chose not to disrupt schedules and obligations so late in the school year, which ends June 11. The L.A. Unified reopening plan offers both middle and high school students a half-time, on-campus academic schedule that includes no in-person instruction. Instead, students must remain in one classroom, from which they log into their classes. The teacher in the room is instructing other students online in various places. Twice a day for 30 minutes, that teacher will engage directly with the students in the room for an activity to support their social and emotional needs. The district adopted this approach to limit the mixing of students as they move from class to class, something that many other districts have allowed. This format was a miscalculation, said Tressa Pankovits, associate director for Reinventing America’s Schools at Progressive Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank. “If a kid is miserable doing Zoom lessons, why force them to do it in an unfamiliar classroom with a teacher whose attention is on students in another class? It’s a ridiculous proposition, really,” Pankovits said. “It’s inarguable that LAUSD tried too hard to balance the demands from the adults, clearly at the expense of its students.” Others have defended the safety-first format. California The ‘Zoom in a room’ option for in-person schooling — the format for high schools in Los Angeles and San Francisco — has failed to draw back the vast majority of students. May 9, 2021 Board of Education members must now enact a plan to spend billions of dollars in one-time state and federal aid just as they launch a search for a new district chief, after Supt. Austin Beutner announced last month that he was stepping down at the conclusion of his three-year contract at the end of June. Board member Nick Melvoin acknowledged that the limited secondary format means “fewer students are choosing to return.” He added: “This underscores the need for a full-time, in-person learning option that looks as close to normal as possible for the fall.” Board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin doesn’t think the short-term, unpopular format will drive families away, but “I am still worried about the steady enrollment decline generally and look forward to robust decision-making about how to use our once-in-a-lifetime funding for once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for our students and our schools.” School board member Jackie Goldberg said her concerns will amplify if students do not return in large numbers to summer school, which will provide in-person instruction at all grade levels, she said. Teachers also will need to return for summer school to accommodate large numbers of students. But having money to pay them does not automatically mean the district will be able to hire enough additional teachers, tutors, counselors and nurses to boost academic and psychological recovery. Board member Monica Garcia noted the trauma suffered by many families and stressed the importance of offering options to families — positions that are widely held. O’Donnell said the Legislature is extremely unlikely to allow any school system to remain entirely online in the fall, but could work out provisions that would allow individual families to make that choice. He added that it would be important for online offerings to be more robust than the independent study options of the past — another point of broad agreement. The number of returning students at all grade levels has been lower than expected based on earlier parent back-to-campus surveys: About 30% of elementary school children have returned and 12% of middle school students. And despite low expectations for secondary schools from the onset, the district had anticipated more than twice as many would return. About 8,000 high school students have returned, while more than 105,000 have not. These numbers do not speak to whether students are attending classes online or are academically engaged. The vast majority of the district’s 465,000 students have not had in-person classes on campus since March 13, 2020. Although Los Angeles attendance is particularly low, many of California’s largest school districts are struggling to persuade high school students to return. The majority of the state’s secondary school students will end their year much like it began — fully online. Beutner said vaccinations will be crucial for getting students back on campus, and called Monday for a school-based student vaccination campaign to begin before the end of the current school year. On Wednesday, federal authorities are expected to approve vaccination guidelines for the Pfizer COVID-19 shot for anyone 12 and older under an emergency-use authorization. “We actually think vaccination is the path to return students to school as soon as possible, as safely as possible,” Beutner said. “One of the answers to helping underserved communities is to bring the vaccine to school. Our goal is to provide the opportunity for every 12- to 18-year-old to be vaccinated well in advance of school starting in August. And well in advance means now, not July 15 — trying to find children who aren’t at school.” The district has joined with private and public health partners to open vaccination clinics at 13 schools, where no appointment is required, and is ready to expand further. If other government agencies commit to providing the doses, Beutner said, the district will manage the remaining logistics: “There is no time to waste in that effort.” Wider vaccine distribution would make school communities safer and could build public confidence, he added. Beutner also said that he sees an important silver lining in the numbers. He noted that a higher percentage of high school students have returned to campus in lower-income communities, including those that suffered most during the height of the pandemic. Teachers, counselors and principals, he said, are reporting that “those who most need support are there.” As evidence, he noted that 12% of high school students who live in the Huntington Park/Vernon area, with a median income of $44,231, have returned to campus compared with 4.8% in West L.A., with a median income of $116,083. “These may be students experiencing homelessness, those who are part of the foster care system, students who don’t have adequate Wi-Fi at home, students who need a safe and secure place to study,” he said. “Those are the students who are back, and we’re able to support them.” Beutner has a point, “although there are certainly more than 7% of students who could really use help,” said Wendy Murawski, executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cal State Northridge. The district has yet to release numbers on what percentage of students in each of these high-need categories is returning. About 80% of L.A. Unified students come from low-income families; 20% are learning English, and about 13% have disabilities. “I think we have a lot of students who have checked out,” Murawski said. “They’re not getting their needs met and so they’re going to stay home and call this year a wash. Others have managed it — have figured out a way to handle it.” Although there’s been learning loss, there’s also been burnout, added Murawski, who has a child in high school who decided not to return. For many students, it’s about just getting through the next five weeks, saying, “‘I just need to be done. I’m not gonna go back to school. I’m not gonna try anything new.’ I’m really hoping that that changes for next year.” California In-person schooling looks very different from neighborhood to neighborhood, especially at the elementary school level. April 18, 2021

What's on TV Monday: 'Breeders' on FX; 'The Voice' on NBC and more

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-05-10/whats-on-tv-monday-breeders-on-fx-the-voice-on-nbc-and-more

During the coronavirus crisis, the Los Angeles Times is making some temporary changes to our print sections. The prime-time TV grid is on hiatus in print but an expanded version is available in your daily Times eNewspaper. You can find a printable PDF online at: latimes.com/whats-on-tv. The Neighborhood When Calvin’s (Cedric the Entertainer) rivals, the Pink Ladies, move their manicure business into the local barbershop, Dave (Max Greenfield) encourages him to make peace. 8 p.m. CBS The Voice The winner of the four-way knockout is revealed. 8 p.m. NBC Television Ariana Grande is the latest pop star to take a seat on NBC’s ‘The Voice.’ The ‘7 Rings’ singer will replace Nick Jonas as a Season 21 coach. March 30, 2021 9-1-1 After a celebrated mystery author dies, Athena and Bobby (Angela Bassett, Peter Krause) and the team respond to multiple calls stemming from the chaos of a frenzied citywide search for hidden treasure the dead man left behind. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oliver Stark, Rockmond Dunbar, Ryan Guzman and John Harlan Kim also star with guest stars Bryan Safi, Debra Christofferson and Megan West. 8 p.m. Fox Antiques Roadshow In this new episode appraisers evaluate items from the personal collections of author Marc Brown, chef Carla Hall, humorist John Hodgman and musicians Ruben Blades and Luba Mason. (N) 8 p.m. KOCE Seeking Sister Wife (N) 8 p.m. TLC Bob Hearts Abishola While Dele (Travis Wolfe Jr.) is in Nigeria with his dad (Tony Tambi), Abishola (Folake Olowofoyeku) struggles with how to handle her free time. Billy Gardell also stars in this new episode of the comedy. 8:30 p.m. CBS All Rise When Lola (Simone Missick) presides over the case of former Sheriff Wayne McCarthy (Louis Herthum), Deputy Rashel (Nick Wechsler) and other cops come forward but Corinne (Anne Heche) turns their testimonies against them. (N) 9 p.m. CBS Black Lightning Jefferson (Cress Williams) decides to take Khalil (Jordan Calloway) up on his offer while Lynn (Christine Adams) wrestles with a big decision and Tobias (Marvin Jones III) follows through on a nagging hunch. Nafessa Williams, Chantal Thuy and James Remar also star. (N) 9 p.m. The CW 9-1-1: Lone Star While Owen (Rob Lowe) is recovering, he emerges as the prime suspect in a serial arson case in this new episode of the action series. 9 p.m. Fox Best Baker in America The nine bakers make their own upscale version of Maryland’s Smith Island cake, incorporating boardwalk popcorn. Then the bake-off round involves a dessert inspired by the Pennsylvania classic shoofly pie. 9 p.m. Food Network Running Wild With Bear Grylls Gina Carano joins Grylls in the Dolomite mountains of Italy. 9 p.m. National Geographic Bull (N) 10 p.m. CBS Debris (N) 10 p.m. NBC The Good Doctor Shaun (Freddie Highmore) is already struggling in his role as Lea’s (Paige Spara) partner when complications arise in her pregnancy. Will Yun Lee and Hill Harper also star with guest stars Noah Galvin, Bria Samone Henderson and Veronica Cartwright. 10 p.m. ABC POV The new episode “Through the Night” tells the stories of two working mothers and a childcare provider whose lives intersect at a 24-hour day care in New Rochelle, N.Y. 10 p.m. KOCE Breeders Tensions between Paul and Luke (Martin Freeman, Alex Eastwood) erupt in this new episode. 10 p.m. FX Race to the Center of the Earth In the season finale, four teams converge on their final destination. 10 p.m. National Geographic Power of Women the Comedians This new special honors the work of six powerhouses of comedy: Mindy Kaling (“The Mindy Project”), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”), Maya Rudolph (“The Good Place”), Sofía Vergara (“Modern Family”), Michaela Coel (“I May Destroy You”) and Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”). Also, Tina Fey offers a tribute to the life and career of Gilda Radner. 8 p.m. Lifetime The Crime of the Century The opener of this new two-part special documents the processes at Purdue Pharma and the FDA that led to the opioid epidemic in the U.S. Concludes Tuesday. 9 p.m. HBO Books Patrick Radden Keefe’s much-anticipated “Empire of Pain” lays it all bare April 13, 2021 Baseball The Angels visit the Houston Astros, 5 p.m. BSW and ESPN; regional coverage, 8 p.m. MLB NHL Hockey The Dallas Stars visit the Chicago Blackhawks, 5 p.m. NBCSP; the St. Louis Blues visit the Kings, 7 p.m. BSSC CBS This Morning Michelle Obama; Jake Tapper; actresses Angelina Jolie and Medina Senghore. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS Today (N) 7 a.m. KNBC KTLA Morning News (N) 7 a.m. KTLA Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC Good Day L.A. (N) 7 a.m. KTTV Live With Kelly and Ryan Andrew McCarthy (“Brat: An ’80s Story”). (N) 9 a.m. KABC The View (N) 10 a.m. KABC Rachael Ray (N) 10 a.m. KTTV Home & Family Samantha Harris; authors Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt. (N) 10 a.m. Hallmark The Wendy Williams Show (N) 11 a.m. KTTV The Talk (N) 1 p.m. KCBS Tamron Hall (N) 1 p.m. KABC The Drew Barrymore Show (N) 2 p.m. KCBS The Kelly Clarkson Show Paul Feig; Sean Hayes; Dr. Priyanka Wali; Aidy Bryant; Stephanie Izard; Evanescence performs. (N) 2 p.m. KNBC The Doctors (N) 2 p.m. KCOP Dr. Phil (N) 3 p.m. KCBS The Ellen DeGeneres Show Michael B. Jordan (“Without Remorse”); Tahar Rahim. (N) 3 p.m. KNBC The Dr. Oz Show The new CDC guidelines about masks and activities; unvaccinated children; online refund scams. (N) 3 p.m. KTTV The Real Jody Watley; Jocko Sims (“New Amsterdam”). (N) 3 p.m. KCOP Amanpour and Company (N) 11 p.m. KCET; midnight KVCR; 1 a.m. KLCS The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (N) 11 p.m. Comedy Central Conan Sean Hayes. (N) 11 p.m. TBS The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Leslie Jones; activist X González; Weezer performs. (N) 11:34 p.m. KNBC The Late Show With Stephen Colbert 11:35 p.m. KCBS Jimmy Kimmel Live! 11:35 p.m. KABC Late Night With Seth Meyers Tracee Ellis Ross; Paula Pell. (N) 12:36 a.m. KNBC The Late Late Show With James Corden 12:37 a.m. KCBS Nightline (N) 12:37 a.m. KABC A Little Late With Lilly Singh Humble the Poet. (N) 1:36 a.m. KNBC The Story of Vernon & Irene Castle (1939) 8:45 a.m. TCM Pavarotti (2019) 9 a.m. TMC The Negotiator (1998) 9:09 a.m. and 5:37 p.m. Starz Rocky III (1982) 9:10 a.m. HBO A Most Violent Year (2014) 9:45 a.m. Showtime Thelma & Louise (1991) 10 a.m. AMC The Invisible Man (2020) 10:17 a.m. Cinemax 13 Going on 30 (2004) 10:55 a.m. HBO The Hours (2002) 11 a.m. TMC Ghost (1990) 11:30 a.m. Sundance 21 Jump Street (2012) 11:32 a.m. and 9:32 p.m. Starz The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Noon Showtime Class Action (1991) 12:02 p.m. Encore Erin Brockovich (2000) 1 p.m. AMC Knocked Up (2007) 1 p.m. MTV Three Little Words (1950) 1:45 p.m. TCM Get Him to the Greek (2010) 1:55 p.m. Encore Goosebumps (2015) 2 p.m. FXX Titanic (1997) 2:19 p.m. Starz The Dark Knight Rises (2012) 2:25 p.m. HBO Ready or Not (2019) 2:28 p.m. Cinemax The Firm (1993) 2:30 p.m. Sundance 1917 (2019) 3:50 p.m. Showtime Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) 4:30 p.m. FX Waterloo Bridge (1940) 5 p.m. TCM Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) 5:30 p.m. Syfy Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) 5:30 p.m. TNT The Hurt Locker (2008) 5:50 p.m. Showtime Grease (1978) 6 p.m. AMC Coming to America (1988) 6 and 11:10 p.m. Paramount While We’re Young (2014) 6:15 p.m. TMC Marie Antoinette (1938) 7 p.m. TCM Finding Dory (2016) 8 p.m. ABC Queen & Slim (2019) 8 p.m. Cinemax Double Jeopardy (1999) 8 p.m. Sundance Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018) 8 and 10:30 p.m. TNT Twister (1996) 8:30 p.m. AMC My Cousin Vinny (1992) 8:30 p.m. Paramount A Soldier’s Story (1984) 9 p.m. Ovation H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941) 9:45 p.m. TCM Die Hard 2 (1990) 10:14 p.m. Cinemax First Reformed (2017) 11:35 p.m. TMC Arrival (2016) 11:40 p.m. Epix Television TV highlights for May 9-15 also include a salute to female comedians on Lifetime and the return of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” May 9, 2021 TV Grids for the entire week of May. 9 - 15 in PDF format for easy downloading and printing May 7, 2021 Television Movies on TV this week: May 9: ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ on Showtime; ‘Forrest Gump’; on Comedy Central; ‘The Philadelphia Story’ on TCM and more May 7, 2021 Movies on TV for the entire week, May. 9 - 15 in interactive PDF format for easy downloading and printing May 7, 2021 Television Looking for what to watch on TV? Here are the television listings from the Los Angeles Times in printable PDF files. June 18, 2021

Dodgers build huge lead, almost blow it in wacky, 14-11 win over Angels

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-05-08/dodgers-ride-two-inning-hit-parade-to-wacky-win-over-angels

Some were hit hard, firm line drives and loud fly balls scattered around the park. Some rolled along the ground, weak contact that kept on finding the right spots. Once they started, they didn’t stop. Batter after batter. Hit after hit. Run scored after run scored. A Dodgers team that in recent weeks had struggled to string together hits, failed to manufacture runs and sputtered at the plate suddenly snapped back to life on Saturday at Angel Stadium. In the fourth inning, they scored eight runs. In the fifth, they added five more. In the end, the Dodgers’ 14-11 win over the Angels probably should have never gotten as close as it did. After the early offensive explosion and Clayton Kershaw’s scoreless five-inning start, they led by 13, only to watch the Angels score four runs in the sixth and seven runs in the seventh to make it a game again. But the Dodgers (18-16) eventually pulled through, their bullpen doing just enough to snap a four-game losing streak and an extended 4-14 skid. Dodgers Episode 3 explores the failed public housing idea that was used as the bait to lure the Dodgers away from Brooklyn in 1958 – leaving large swaths of displaced Angelenos resentful of the Dodgers for occupying the land at Chavez Ravine. “We needed a win,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “There was a lot more good that came out of tonight than bad, and ultimately, we won a ballgame.” It took a few innings for the Dodgers to heat up, with Angels starter Dylan Bundy retiring eight of the first nine batters — the lone baserunner reached on an error — seemingly with ease. Once the lineup turned over for a second time in the fourth inning, however, the Dodgers got on a roll. Mookie Betts led off with a walk. Corey Seager laced a single into center. And Max Muncy lined a single to right to score the game’s first run. More soon followed. Angels Angels star Mike Trout developed a special relationship with Albert Pujols, so the news of Pujols’ release Thursday left the three-time AL MVP emotional. May 7, 2021 After a brief pause during the next at-bat — the result of Angels third baseman Jose Rojas inadvertently tagging Betts below the belt after fielding a ball, the two laughing about it as Betts took a moment to gather himself — Will Smith kept the line moving with an RBI single. Chris Taylor loaded the bases with a knock into left. Then Matt Beaty hammered a double to right, making it 4-0 with one of only three extra-base hits the Dodgers hit all night. “On the offensive side, there were so many good things,” Roberts said. “A lot of guys got on track … Kept the line moving. Some big two-out hits. Just across the board, some tough at-bats.” Beaty’s double marked the end of Bundy’s day, but Angels reliever Steve Cishek could escape the frame. After intentionally walking Gavin Lux to juice the bags again, the next three Dodgers all hit soft ground balls: Austin Barnes a roller to second, Betts a tapper the other way, and Seager a swinging bunt up the third base line. None had an exit velocity harder than 80.9 mph, nor an expected batting average above .200, according to MLB’s Statcast system. Yet all three resulted in a single, leading to four more runs in an inning that saw 14 batters come to the plate. The fifth inning unfolded similarly. Taylor and Beaty drew leadoff walks against reliever Félix Peña, advanced to second and third on a grounder from Barnes, then watched their teammates catch fire with two outs: Betts singled them both home; Justin Turner plated another run with a hustle double to left; and Smith lifted a soft flare in right to drive in a couple more. Seager finished the game with three hits. Betts, Muncy, Smith and Beaty all tallied two. Betts also tacked on a team-high four RBIs and drew a walk, raising his batting average to .268 and and on-base-plus-slugging to .834, his highest in more than two weeks. “I think I’m in a decent spot to go out and compete,” Betts said. “I’ve been working hard, trying to get back to a normal good feeling. It comes and goes.” With the score seemingly out of hand, both teams appeared to almost concede the result. The Angels (14-18) removed Mike Trout and Justin Upton (José Iglesias exited the game earlier in the night because of a stiff back). The Dodgers pulled Betts, Seager and Turner. Kershaw was also taken out after only 71 pitches, though Roberts said that was because he was pitching on only three days’ rest. “A 13-run lead, we have to be able to close out four innings,” Roberts said. Highlights from the Dodgers’ 14-11 victory over the Angels on Saturday. But down the stretch, there were moments his team looked like they might not do it. The Angels scored four runs in the sixth to make it 13-4, only to allow the Dodgers to regain a double-digit lead with a run in the top of the seventh — an inning that also saw Angels manager Joe Maddon get ejected arguing a play that had already gone to review. Still, the Angels rallied again in the bottom of the seventh, mounting a charge even after making two quick outs. It started when Shohei Ohtani hit a grounder at Barnes, who had moved over to second base to accommodate fellow catcher Keibert Ruiz’s insertion into the game as a pinch-hitter the half-inning before. For most big-league infielders, the well-struck roller would have been a manageable play. But Barnes’ stab with the glove came up empty, extending an inning that quickly went off the rails. The next five Angels batters strung together hits against Dodgers reliever Mitch White, leading to four runs. Still needing just one more out, the Dodgers summoned Garrett Cleavinger from the bullpen to face Rojas. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Rojas clobbered his first career home run to right, a three-run blast that made it a three-run game. “You can feel momentum even through a television screen,” said Maddon, watching at that point from the clubhouse. “They showed a young lady in the right field stands. I said, ‘Hit it to her.’ He almost did.” The Angels would get no closer, however, going down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings against Dodgers relievers Victor González and Blake Treinen, who was tabbed to get his first of the season instead of Kenley Jansen because he had already been getting warm the inning prior. “That’s why you have to get 27 outs,” Betts said. “It’s tough. They did a great job of battling back. You don’t want that to happen, but I think beggars can’t be choosers right now, and we’ll take anything we can get.”

Letters to the Editor: 'Mestizo,' 'Chicano,' 'Raza' — how U.S. census forms can identify Latinos

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-05-05/us-census-forms-latinos

To the editor: I choose “other” on the census form when asked what race I am. (“‘Other’ as the nation’s 2nd-largest race? Latinos and the 2020 census may make that happen,” Opinion, April 29) Why? because I am 100% Kaqchikel, an indigenous member of the Maya family. Other U.S. Latinos choose “other” because they are Mestizo; that’s someone of mixed race, especially of indigenous and European blood. In Latin America, mestizos represent the largest racial group. In addition to adding “Mestizo” to future census forms, many U.S. Latinx people, like me, identify as “Raza,” and others embrace “Chicano.” To be Chicano, you are of Mexican American heritage or indigenous roots. When I greet someone with “Raza,” they light up with pride. Luis Alfredo Vasquez-Ajmac, Redondo Beach The writer was an advisor to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2010 on boosting Latino participation. .. To the editor: Laura E. Gómez stated that the previous administration rejected a proposal by Census Bureau officials to make “Latino” a race option in the 2020 census. I’m shocked, shocked, that a common-sense, analytically based change was blocked by those fine, fair-minded policymakers. The change in the list of race identities would have resulted in a more accurate picture of our country’s population and a more equitable distribution of government resources. How about a do-over on the census? Congress should order a new one, with the recommended changes to the list of racial groups. Scrap the 2020 results and let the 2022 census reflect the real numbers. Maybe when people aren’t afraid, they will come out of hiding. Then we would have at least a chance for a fairer, less disparate society. Pamela Clark, Ontario

Jayson Tatum scores 60 points as Celtics rally from 32-point deficit to beat Spurs

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-04-30/celtics-rally-from-32-down-beat-spurs-143-140-in-overtime

Even a few members of the Boston Celtics couldn’t quite believe they pulled off their latest comeback. The Celtics turned around a woeful first half, storming back from a 32-point deficit and beating the San Antonio Spurs 143-140 in overtime on Friday night. Jayson Tatum scored a career-high 60 points for the Celtics, including 21 in the fourth quarter and 10 more in OT to cap the improbable comeback with a pair of free throws that sealed it with four seconds remaining. “He did exactly what a great player is supposed to do,” Jaylen Brown said of Tatum, who reset his career-high twice in the month of April. “He was efficient, led us, hit timely shots — big baskets — real big-boy basketball. That’s what we need. We’re going to need that going forward.” Lakers Lakers star LeBron James, who has missed 20 games because of a sprained right ankle, played in Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. April 30, 2021 Brown finished with 17 points, hitting a 3-pointer with 16.7 seconds left in OT that finally gave the Celtics the lead for good after the team had been booed off the court at halftime. Marcus Smart had 10 points and 12 assists, and Aaron Nesmith had 16 points and six rebounds for Boston. “I think the best part was obviously coming back and winning and just seeing everybody contribute,” said Tatum, whose 60 points tied Larry Bird for the franchise scoring record in a single game. “That just kind of shows the growth of our team — to see everybody contributing when we’re down 30 points and just figuring out a way to win the game. Tristan Thompson pulled down 15 rebounds and scored eight points for the Celtics, who moved a half-game up on idle Miami for sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. Highlights from the Boston Celtics’ 143-140 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. “We haven’t been this bad very often. The first half, this was a different level,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said. “We just have to stay in the moment and figure out how to be better for 48 minutes. That’s it. I’m proud of our resiliency, our resolve, our togetherness, our willingness to put aside whatever happened in the first half.” San Antonio shot 71.4% in the first half, leading by as many as 32 points in the second quarter. The Spurs held a 31-point lead in the third before the Celtics started a furious rally that required an extra five minutes to complete. DeMar DeRozan had 30 points and 14 assists for the Spurs. Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker IV finished with 24 points each, and Jakob Poeltl finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. “We left the door open — too many opportunities,” DeRozan said.

Josh Duggar, former ‘19 Kids and Counting' star, faces child pornography charges

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-04-30/former-reality-tv-star-josh-duggar-faces-child-porn-charges

Josh Duggar, former star of the reality TV show “19 Kids and Counting,” faces charges of downloading and possessing child pornography under a federal indictment unsealed Friday. Federal prosecutors announced the indictment a day after Duggar was arrested by U.S. marshals in northwest Arkansas. Prosecutors said Duggar possessed the material, some of which depicts the sexual abuse of children under the age of 12, in May 2019. Duggar, 33, pleaded not guilty at a hearing Friday. His attorneys said they planned to defend his case “aggressively and thoroughly.” “In this country, no one can stop prosecutors from charging a crime,” the attorneys said in a statement. “But when you’re accused, you can fight back in the courtroom — and that is exactly what Josh intends to do.” Awards Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, stars of the hit TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting,” said they felt like failures after hearing that when their oldest son, Josh, was a teenager, he was involved in inappropriate conduct with several underage girls, including more than one of his younger sisters. June 3, 2015 A federal judge set a detention hearing for Wednesday and a July 6 trial date. Duggar starred on TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” until it was pulled from the network in 2015 over revelations he had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter. Duggar’s parents said he had confessed to the fondling and apologized. Duggar previously apologized for a pornography addiction and cheating on his wife. If convicted, Duggar faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and fines up to $250,000 on each of two counts, for receipt and possession of child pornography.

Anne Douglas, philanthropist and widow of late actor Kirk Douglas, dies at 102

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-04-29/anne-douglas-widow-of-late-actor-kirk-douglas-dies-at-102

Anne Douglas — the widow of Kirk Douglas, stepmother of Michael Douglas and major supporter of arts in L.A. — died Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills at age 102. Douglas’ death was confirmed by spokeswoman Marcia Newberger. No cause of death was given. Douglas served on the board of Center Theatre Group, the city’s largest nonprofit theater company, which will dim the lights of its Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City at 8 p.m. Saturday in her honor. Douglas and her husband made the initial $2.5-million contribution to convert a 1940s movie theater into a 317-seat venue for live performance. The theater opened in 2004. The dimming of the lights is a small recognition of a woman “whose spirit will live on in all the lives she touched,” Michael Ritchie, the theater’s artistic director, said in the announcement. “When we are safely able to welcome audiences back into the Kirk Douglas Theatre, we will all be giving a standing ovation to both Kirk and Anne Douglas, whose legacies will carry on forever through our work on that special stage.” Movies On screen, Kirk Douglas was a legendary tough guy. April 29, 2017 The company said the Douglases had provided “sizable” financial support over the years, including a $10-million grant in 2012. Anne Buydens married Kirk Douglas in 1954 after they met in Paris while he was filming “Act of Love” and she was doing publicity. They had two sons, Peter, a producer, and Eric, an actor. In 2017 the couple published “Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter, and a Lifetime in Hollywood.” “I often wonder what would have happened to me if I hadn’t married Anne,” Kirk Douglas once said. “I might not have survived without her business acumen and her finely honed instincts.” The Hollywood legend, star of “Spartacus” and “Lust for Life,” died in February 2020 at 103. Obituaries Never a fan of the Hollywood studio system, Douglas rose up as a maverick filmmaker Feb. 5, 2020 The Douglas Foundation, which Anne and her husband co-founded, has donated millions to a range of institutions, from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Michael Douglas said his stepmother “will always be in our hearts.” “She brought out the best in all of us, especially our father. Dad would never have had the career he did without Anne’s support and partnership,” the actor said in a statement. Born Hannelore Marx in Hanover, Germany, she was sent to Belgium as Hitler rose to power and then fled again when the Nazis bombed Brussels. After the war, she became involved in the booming film industry in Paris, and filmmaker John Huston, among others, sought her out to work as an assistant. She served as a location manager during the filming of “Moulin Rouge.” She later married Albert Buydens. Once in Los Angeles, she worked with Dorothy Chandler during the construction of the Los Angeles Music Center, leaning on moguls and movies stars — including her husband — to contribute to the project. Inspired by a Los Angeles Times report on the unsafe school playgrounds in the Los Angeles Unified School District, she persuaded her husband to launch the Kirk and Anne Douglas Playground Award program, which helped fund improvements to play spaces at more than 400 schools. Kirk Douglas’ first wife and Michael’s mother, Diana Douglas, died in 2015. Anne Douglas is survived by children Peter and Joel; seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a sister, Merle Werbke. She was predeceased by her son Eric. A Los Angeles Times staff writer contributed to this report.

Soccer newsletter: European Super League idea is gone, but not dead yet

https://www.latimes.com/sports/newsletter/2021-04-27/european-super-league-soccer

Hello, and welcome to the L.A. Times soccer newsletter. I’m Kevin Baxter, The Times’ soccer writer, and we begin again with the European Super League, an idea that faded faster than the Harlem Shake. The organizers of the 12-team league, which was to debut in August, clearly misread the room and woefully underestimated the pushback from fans, players and the European Union when they announced their plans for an elite invitation-only tournament last week. As a result, they abandoned the idea less than 48 hours after proposing it. But that doesn’t mean they’ve given up on the concept. In fact, you can bet they’ll be back, wiser and better prepared after their embarrassing defeat. The Super League, after all, isn’t a new idea but one that’s been around for years. In its most recent iteration, its base would been formed by 12 founder clubs – six from the Premier League and three each from Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A. Three additional founding members and five annual qualifiers would have been added to form a 20-team field for the competition. The most contentious part of the idea – the one that made it so appealing to the founding clubs and an anathema to everyone else – was the “closed” nature of the format. The 15 original members would be guaranteed a spot in the competition – and a share of the tournament’s prize money and profits – every year while the rest of the continent would be left to fight over table scraps that would go to the five remaining invitees. The Super League was, in essence, a gated community of teams who had grown tired of having to compete for money and trophies with other UEFA clubs they felt were beneath them. The 12 who originally committed to the ESL – Spain’s Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid; Italy’s AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus; and Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham of the Premier League – account for 11 of the 14 richest clubs in the world, according to Deloitte. Those clubs also share 26 of the 28 English champions during the Premier League era, the last 18 Italian champions and the last 16 La Liga winners. Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber. Now compare that Billionaire Boys Club to the more egalitarian Champions League, which is open to every club in Europe based on their finish in their respective league tables. That makes the tournament’s purse, which was nearly $2.5 billion in 2019-20, accessible to all. Simply being one of the 34 teams to make the first qualifying round can be worth more than $330,000, while making it to the quarterfinals can bring tens of millions of needed revenue to more modest clubs such as Italy’s Atalanta, which reached the quarterfinals last summer. The advent of the Super League threatened that by watering down, if not washing away, the Champions League and codifying the monopoly the major clubs already hold in European soccer. Competitive balance throughout the continent also would be harmed by the Super League, detractors argued. It should be noted many of the same arguments about money, power and competitive balance were made three decades ago when clubs in England’s first division, lured by a lucrative broadcast deal, broke away from the Football League to form the Premier League. But rather than ruining soccer, the advent of the Premier League ushered in an era of unimaginable prosperity and popularity that spread across Europe. That history didn’t stop everyone from the EU to the British government to FIFA and even independent supporter groups from attacking the Super League concept and threatening lawsuits and strikes. But it’s far from certain they would have succeeded in stopping it. Certainly the courts would have trouble dictating to the businessmen who own Arsenal or Juventus which tournaments their clubs can play in. And FIFA’s promise to ban players on Super League clubs from international events likely was just as hollow; why should Argentina be forced to play without Lionel Messi or the U.S. without Christian Pulisic because of a decision their club teams made? There’s precedent for all this, pointed out Steven A. Bank, a professor of business law at UCLA who has written and lectured extensively on soccer. There’s already a breakaway basketball league in Europe, for instance, and the European General Court ruled last December the International Skating Union violated competition law by barring some speedskaters from its world championship because they had competed in an unsanctioned event – the exact argument UEFA, FIFA and others would try to make against the Super League. Third-party organizations, the court said, need to be allowed to operate in the marketplace. A better strategy might be the one the Italian soccer federation followed Monday when it added a clause to its regulations that would ban member teams from participating in a privately run competition. “Those who feel they have to participate in competitions not authorized by FIFA or UEFA lose their affiliation,” federation president Gabriele Gravina said at a news conference. Expect other leagues to adopt similar regulations. But if the reforms simply stop at keeping teams from breaking away, they will address only half the problem. UEFA, FIFA and the rest of the interested parties also must address – really address -- the unequal and out-of-control financial ecosystem of the sport, one which no longer is working even for the super clubs. That’s why they felt the need to establish their own league in the first place. In the meantime, the credit for stopping the Super League before it really got started goes to fans who made their opposition known from the outset, in many cases forcing big-name players and managers such as Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp to undercut the concept as well. That made it untenable for the clubs to try to go forward because even the most powerful teams can’t play without fans, players and coaches. But unless financial reforms are put in place to address their concerns they’ll be back – smarter, more united and more organized after last week’s debacle. The first battle may have been won, but the war is far from over. We’re just two weeks into the MLS season, which is far too early to make any grand pronouncements regarding the two local teams. But we can look at trends, and the early returns are favorable to the Galaxy while a little less positive for LAFC. The Galaxy are the only team in the league to open the season with two wins, and they did it by scoring a franchise-record six goals in those two games. Five of them came from Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, who joined Brian Ching as the only players with a brace and a hat trick in the first two games of a season. Yes, the wins came against underwhelming opponents in Inter Miami and the Red Bulls. And the defense left much to be desired by giving up 33 shots in the two games and forcing new keeper Jonathan Bond to make 10 saves. So it would be wise for Galaxy fans to temper their enthusiasm until the team proves the fast start is not a mirage. A truer test of the Galaxy’s mettle will come this weekend when the team travels to Seattle to meet the Sounders, who have played in four of the last five MLS Cup finals. In the meantime, the folks in the Galaxy dressing room say this team could be something special. After a dysfunctional and disorganized two seasons under former manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the Galaxy are playing with passion and purpose under Greg Vanney, who was hired in January to restore the club’s grandeur. “The change of culture, coach, a little bit of everything. This is the first time I feel these vibes in the locker room,” captain Jonathan dos Santos said of the team’s positive attitude. “I feel like I really know my teammates. It’s just a different relationship.” “The aspirations for this year are to make it to the finals and win the MLS Cup,” he added. “I won’t be satisfied with just the playoffs.” The credit for that turnaround goes to Vanney, a defender on the first team in Galaxy history and an MLS Cup winner as a coach in Toronto. In Canada he inherited a team that had never had a winning record and took it to the only treble in league history – a Supporter’s Shield, MLS Cup and domestic cup title – in his third full season. With the Galaxy he took over a team coming off the worst four-year stretch in its history and he already has it thinking about championships. “I’ve been on championship teams before and we have all the characteristics,” defender Jorge Villafaña said. “The team is together and united as one.” Added Hernández: “It’s the best club in MLS and we need to try and prove it day by day.” The rebirth of Chicharito has been even more spectacular. After scoring just twice in a 2020 MLS season marred by injury and personal issues off the field, Hernández has scored on five of his seven shots this season. And four of those five goals have either tied the score or put the Galaxy ahead. Just as important is the fact all five scores have been classic Chicharito goals. Unlike players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic or LAFC’s Carlos Vela, who can create goals out of thin air with their physicality and skill, Hernández is a poacher, a player who depends on his ability to maneuver around the penalty area and rely on instincts and anticipation to take him to the right place at the right time. “Javier, like a smart forward, if he sees a guy running hard to the near post, you get to the back post and see if you can clean up something. And sure enough he was there to do so,” Vanney said after Sunday’s hat trick. “He was clever about his movements throughout the day. It was a day of opportunistic actions more than it was anything else.” It would be premature to say the Galaxy have eclipsed LAFC as Southern California’s top team, given that Bob Bradley’s team also is unbeaten after last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Seattle. But Hernández certainly has stolen the spotlight from the absent Vela, his former teammate with Mexico’s national team. Vela, who set the league’s single-season scoring record with 34 goals in 2019, has played just 21 minutes this season and just 445 in MLS regular-season games since winning the Golden Boot. After missing much of the 2020 season with a knee injury, he sustained a quadriceps strain midway through the first half of LAFC’s season opener earlier this month. He didn’t train with the team last week and remains questionable for this weekend’s game in Houston. Diego Rossi, who succeeded him as the league’s top scorer last season, hasn’t played at all this season, nor has newly signed defender Kim Moon-hwan. As a result, LAFC has gone from being a dangerous and dynamic goal-scoring machine into a team that has had to wrest out narrow results in its first two games, with Bradley already using 19 players. “I believe in the team. We see the way they work every single day,” Bradley said. “The positive part was the mentality. Did I learn it? Not really. I knew it. But I like to see it come out with some young guys on big days.” Speaking of young guys, LAFC used six players under the age of 23 in Saturday’s draw with the Sounders. Whether that early experience pays off later in the season remains to be seen, but for the team to recapture the kind of offensive dominance it once used to bludgeon opponents it will need to get a healthy Vela and a healthy Rossi back on the field together. In the meantime, Bradley will play the cards he has. “We are proud to see how some of the young players have improved and gotten better,” he said. “That makes us feel good about the way we work.” The venues for this summer’s Gold Cup were announced last week and, because of COVID-19 protocols, none of the games will be played in California for the first time since 2003. Similar coronavirus concerns also have delayed an announcement from MLS concerning this summer’s All-Star game. CONCACAF will play Gold Cup games at five sites in Texas and one in Florida, states whose governors long ago stopped following the science on COVID-19 by rushing to ban mask mandates and social distancing guidelines while reopening sports venues. That potentially means big crowds for the confederation’s marquee event – albeit with uncertain consequences in terms of the pandemic. Games also will be played in Arizona and Kansas City, Kan., while the final will be held in Las Vegas. In addition to California, which has seen six cities play host to Gold Cup games in the last 17 years, traditional venues in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts also were discarded. All four states continue to limit attendance at outdoor sporting events. But CONCACAF’s decision may prove to be a bit hasty. With vaccine rates exploding across the country, even states with strict COVID-19 protocols are beginning to reopen. Sports venues in California, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania already have allowed fans to return in limited numbers and are expected to relax those limits shortly. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said if infection rates in his state continue to decline stadiums, including the Rose Bowl and SoFi Stadium, could open to full capacity by June 15, 25 days before the Gold Cup opener. The Rose Bowl is the site of 18 of the 22 largest soccer crowds in U.S. history (the Coliseum played host to another two of those games), including the 2011 Gold Cup final. Leaving the stadium – and the rest of California -- out of this year’s rotation could prove short-sighted if the state is operating normally again this summer. MLS, meanwhile, is being more deliberate in its decision-making. The All-Star game, which was to match teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX, was to be played at Banc of California last summer before being scrapped by the coronavirus outbreak. The league would like to stage the game there this July but is reluctant to say so publicly until there are reasonable assurances that state and local health officials will approve the event. In the interim, the league will consider other venues as a back-up. Mexico will be able to call up three over-23 players for the Tokyo Olympics and Chicharito said Sunday he would consider an offer to join the team if invited. He wanted to play on the 2012 gold-medal-winning Mexican team in London but his then-club, Manchester United, would not allow him to leave preseason training camp. He may have more luck with the Galaxy since the team’s general manager, Dennis te Kloese, formerly was in charge of the national team program for Mexico and retains close ties with the federation. Hernández will be 33 when the Games open in July … League races in Spain and France are going down to the wire. In La Liga, four teams are within three points of one other with Atlético Madrid leading Real Madrid and Barcelona by two points and Sevilla by three. Barcelona has six games remaining, the other three one fewer. In France, Lille is a point in front of Paris Saint-Germain and two in front of Monaco with four matches to play. Lille last won a league title in 2011; that is its only title in the last 66 seasons. But the biggest changing of the guard will take place in Italy, where Juventus, winner of the last nine scudetti, is fourth, 13 points back of Inter Milan with 15 points left to play for … English Premier League teams are instituting a temporary social media ban to protest “discriminatory abuse” directed at players and others connected to the game. Don’t miss my weekly podcast on the Corner of the Galaxy site as co-host Josh Guesman and I discuss the Galaxy each Monday. You can listen to the most recent podcast here. “It brought back memories of when I started playing here in L.A. back in the Chivas USA days. Seeing my family in the stands was also amazing.” Galaxy defender Jorge Villafaña, after playing his first home game at Dignity Health Sports Park since being trading away from Chivas USA after the 2013 season Until next time... Stay tuned for future newsletters. Subscribe here, and I’ll come right to your inbox. Something else you’d like to see? Email me. Or follow me on Twitter: @kbaxter11.

Jacob deGrom strikes out 15, allows two hits in Mets' shutout of Nationals

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-04-23/degroms-15-strikeouts-2-hitter-lead-mets-over-nats-6-0

Jacob deGrom struck out a career-high 15, pitched a two-hitter and boosted the sagging Mets’ offense with a go-ahead double from the No. 8 spot in the batting order, powering New York over the Washington Nationals 6-0 Friday night. DeGrom has struck out 43 in his last three starts and 50 overall this season, breaking the major league record for most in a pitcher’s first four starts set just last weekend by Cleveland ace Shane Bieber with 48. Perennially plagued by a lack of run support, just like Mets star Tom Seaver decades earlier, deGrom lowered his career ERA to 2.55 and overtook Seaver (2.57) as New York’s franchise leader. The two-time Cy Young Award winner retired the final 19 batters of his second shutout and fourth complete game in 187 starts, walking none. DeGrom also made the final putout, leaping on first base to catch Pete Alonso’s toss on Josh Harrison’s grounder. Brandon Nimmo hit his first home run of the season, an eighth-inning drive off Kyle McGowin, and had four RBIs. The Mets stopped a three-game slide after getting to Citi Field at 4:15 a.m. after a Thursday night game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Dodgers Dodgers lose three of four to San Diego as bullpen can’t hold lead. April 25, 2021 DeGrom (2-1) was coming off consecutive 14-strikeout games against Miami and Colorado, and New York gave him a fifth day of rest. He reached double-digit strikeouts for the third time this season and 49th overall. He joined Boston’s Pedro Martínez in 1999 and Houston’s Gerrit Cole in 2019 as the only pitchers to strike out 14 in three straight appearances. Taking the mound to Lynard Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” deGrom was anything but: He reached 100 mph on 10 of 109 pitches — including five in the first inning. Since the start of the 2020 season, deGrom has reached triple figures on 33 first-inning pitches; Miami’s Sixto Sánchez is a distant second with eight, according to MLB Statcast. DeGrom struck out the side in the sixth and seventh innings and dropped his season ERA to 0.31 with one earned run allowed this season. The pandemic-limited crowd of 8,130 repeatedly chanted “M-V-P!” It was the 16th time since 1901 that a pitcher had 15 or more strikeouts and no walks in a shutout. Erick Fedde retired nine straight before hitting J.D. Davis on the back of his left leg with a one-out pitch in the fifth. Jeff McNeil worked a nine-pitch walk after falling behind 0-2 in the count and deGrom lined a belt-high sinker to the opposite field into left. Nimmo, back in the lineup after missing two starts with a sore right hip, ended an 0-for-8 slide by grounding a two-run single past first baseman Josh Bell, who tried for a diving backhand pickup. Dodgers Closer Mark Melancon almost helped the Atlanta Braves knock off the Dodgers last year, and this year’s he’s trying again with the San Diego Padres. April 23, 2021 Fedde allowed three runs and four hits in five innings. Dominic Smith added an RBI single off Austin Voth in the seventh. DeGrom’s opposite-field double in the fifth against Fedde (1-2) put the Mets ahead 1-0 and gave him a five-game hitting streak dating to 2019. DeGrom, the first Mets pitcher not to start ninth in the batting order since he was in the 8-hole on Sept. 26, 2018, singled in the eighth and is 6 for 11 (.545) at the plate this season — his 72 career hits match his wins total.

Publisher expands on its decision not to distribute book by officer from Breonna Taylor raid

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-04-16/publisher-wont-distribute-book-by-officer-from-taylor-raid

The Louisville police officer who fired at Breonna Taylor after being shot during the deadly raid on Taylor’s apartment is writing a book, but it won’t be distributed as planned by publishing giant Simon & Schuster. On Friday, the publisher explained its decision to employees in an email, expanding on a Thursday statement and regretting any “distress or disruption” caused by the move. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and another officer fired shots that hit Taylor during the March 13, 2020, narcotics raid. Mattingly was shot in the leg by Taylor’s boyfriend. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical worker, died at the scene. No drugs were found in the apartment. Mattingly’s book will be published by Tennessee-based Post Hill Press, The Courier Journal reported. The company website said it publishes “current events, Christian and conservative political books,” among other topics. It has a deal to have its books distributed by Simon & Schuster, which earlier Thursday indicated it could not refuse Post Hill titles. But late Thursday, Simon & Schuster released a statement saying it would not be involved in Mattingly’s book. “Earlier today Simon & Schuster learned of plans by distribution client Post Hill Press to publish a book by Jonathan Mattingly,” the publishing house said in a statement. “We have subsequently decided not be involved in the distribution of this book.” News of Mattingly’s book drew online criticism Thursday, including from Kentucky state Rep. Attica Scott, a Democrat, who wrote on Twitter that “People love to profit off of Black pain and tragedy. It sells.” In an email to all its employees Friday, Simon & Schuster President and CEO Jonathan Karp expanded on the company’s decision to cancel distribution of the book. “We first became aware of the publishing deal with Mattingly through news reports, social media posts and press queries, beginning around 12:00pm,” Karp wrote in the email. “We had no prior knowledge of the book and had not been informed by our distribution partner that it was in the works. By last night we had decided that we could not distribute this book.” Karp nonetheless acknowledged the difficulty of the decision. “We are mindful of the unsustainable precedent of rendering our judgment on the thousands of titles from independent publishers whose books we distribute to our accounts, but whose acquisitions we do not control,” he continued in the email. In a statement to the Associated Press, a publicist for Post Hill Press said the company supports its authors’ free speech rights and that Mattingly “deserves to have his account of the tragic events heard publicly.” Mattingly’s book is expected to be released in the fall. Other Post Hill Press authors include conservative commentator Dan Bongino and embattled Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Mattingly’s book will be titled “The Fight For Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy.” Mattingly, 48, was shot in the leg by Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who said he fired a single shot after fearing an intruder was breaking into the apartment. Mattingly was recently reprimanded by Louisville’s police chief for a September email that was critical of department leadership and protesters. He remains in the department. Two other officers who fired their guns during the raid have been dismissed. Concluding his letter to authors, Karp thanked employees for their feedback: “It has been a tumultuous year, marked by tragedy and injustice. We are grateful that throughout this time you have so openly and courageously shared with us your views and opinions and experiences. We will continue to seek your help and understanding as we strive to move forward as company.”

Relief extended to more than 1 million borrowers with privately-held student loans

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-30/student-loan-relief-extended-to-some-privately-held-loans

The federal government’s pause on student loan payments is being extended to more than 1 million borrowers who have defaulted on student loans that are held by private lenders, the Education Department announced Tuesday. The action is meant to bring relief to the hardest-hit borrowers in a program that allowed private lenders to provide student loans that were backed by the federal government. The program ended in 2010 when the Education Department became the sole lender of federally subsidized student loans. President Biden announced in January that federal student loan payments would remain suspended and rates would be interest-free through at least Sept. 30, extending an action from the administration of former President Trump. But it applied only to those with debt held directly by the federal government, leaving out millions with private student loans. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Monday extended the payment pause and interest-free rate to 1.1 million borrowers who had defaulted on privately held loans. It includes more than 800,000 who were at risk of having their tax refunds seized to repay a defaulted loan. “Our goal is to enable these borrowers who are struggling in default to get the same protections previously made available to tens of millions of other borrowers to help weather the uncertainty of the pandemic,” Cardona said in a statement. The Education Department said it’s working to return tax refunds or wages that were seized over the last year to cover the defaulted loans. Borrowers can also request refunds for any voluntary payments they made during the last year. Any loans that went into default since March 13, 2020, will be returned to good standing. Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-Va.), chair of the House’s education committee, called it “a necessary step to putting money in the pockets of struggling Americans and their families.” Advocacy groups called the measure a good start but said it fails to help more than 5 million other borrowers in the same program, known as the Federal Family Education Loan Program. “This is not enough,” said Persis Yu, director of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance project. “The millions of FFEL borrowers who have not yet defaulted but who may be struggling to make their student loan payments often at the expense of other vital necessities need relief.”

K-pop group BTS condemns anti-Asian racism; members say they've experienced it

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-30/bts-condemns-anti-asian-racism-says-theyve-experienced-it

K-pop superstar group BTS has condemned racism against Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in a statement saying its members have also experienced it themselves. “We stand against racial discrimination,” BTS tweeted Tuesday in English and Korean. The band said its own painful encounters with racism included “expletives” and being “mocked for the way” they look. BTS issued its statement after recent attacks against people with Asian heritage in the United States, which have risen during the coronavirus pandemic. A white man is accused of recently killing eight people, including six women of Asian descent, at Atlanta-area spas. “We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence,” the band said in the statement, adding that their experiences made them feel powerless and chipped away at their self-esteem. In February, a German radio station drew ire when a host compared the band to the coronavirus. Entertainment & Arts Gemma Chan, Ava DuVernay, Shonda Rhimes, Margaret Cho, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daniel Dae Kim and more reacted to the killings of Asian women in Atlanta. March 17, 2021 BTS members said that although the discrimination they endured is “inconsequential” compared to “events that have occurred over the past few weeks,” they felt the need to speak out. “What’s happening right now cannot be disassociated from our identity as Asians,” the band said. Many Asian Americans and others believe the Atlanta shootings were racially motivated. Police say they are still trying to determine a motive. High-profile stars of Asian descent like Steven Yeun, Simu Liu and Sandra Oh have been vocal about spreading awareness of anti-Asian violence. “I am proud to be Asian! We belong here,” Oh shouted into a megaphone at a Stop Asian Hate rally in Pittsburgh last week. World & Nation Here’s what we know about the victims in the attacks on three Atlanta-area spas that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent. March 20, 2021 BTS is one of the first South Korean bands to openly condemn anti-Asian racism. K-pop bands are known to be careful about maintaining personas created by their labels, which often muzzle stars on touchy subjects like race and mental health. BTS previously has addressed racial discrimination and violence. In 2020, the band donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement, which was quickly matched by fans within a day, according to “One In An ARMY,” a global fundraising team made up of BTS fans.

This L.A. food trailer is making perfect, golden flautas

https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2021-03-28/how-los-dorados-la-food-truck-makes-flautas

For Steven Orozco Torres, owner of Los Dorados L.A., it was love at first bite. After tasting his father-in-law’s tacos dorados at a family party, he knew he wanted to make them himself. “He was making these flautas in a big charola and I said, ‘Oh, my God, we have to get these out.’” Torres, who was bartending at the time, got his chance in the summer of 2019, when a taquero didn’t show up in front of the Holiday Bar in Boyle Heights. “We took their spot, and that was it,” he said. I first heard about the Los Dorados flautas from the Los Angeles-based food and news website L.A. Taco. If you haven’t checked the site out yet, I recommend you do as soon as possible. If there is a taco that needs to be consumed in the Los Angeles area, it’s been written about, and most likely discovered, by L.A. Taco. Torres, who started frying flautas at a makeshift stand under a tent, eventually upgraded to a small truck and now has a large trailer. And he’s been making the same four flautas since the beginning: chicken, lamb barbacoa, chorizo and potato. The flautas come two to an order ($6), each plump with filling and as long as your forearm. The lamb barbacoa is made using a family recipe that Torres’ father-in-law learned to make in his hometown of Texcoco, Mexico. It’s steamed and roasted, which Torres says helps eliminate any gaminess. The meat is succulent, fatty and fortifying and almost melts into the crisp shell. The chicken filling is a densely layered chicken tinga that starts with fresh chicken stock with lots of onions and garlic and chipotle. The chicken is cooked until it pulls apart and the strands are practically engorged with the rich broth and smoky chipotle flavors. Then there’s the potato flauta, made with soft mashed potatoes. The filling is simple but takes on a creamy, almost cheesy quality after a dip in the fryer. Torres also makes a chorizo con papa flauta with house-made chorizo that he dry-ages for a while before mixing it with the potato. After failing to find the perfect tortilla at various markets, he decided to develop his own. “Usually when you see flautas — some people call them tacos dorados, or rolled tacos — it’s usually a thicker tortilla that absorbs a lot of oil,” he said. “The tortillas we make in-house are special tortillas for frying.” Torres isn’t sharing any details about their composition but he did say that his tortillas are lower in moisture, which cuts down on oil absorption. They’re crisp and flaky but don’t fall apart, and they have a deep corn flavor that works to accentuate all the fillings. The flautas are fried to order, and each one gets a stripe of both salsa de verde guacamole and crema, a zigzag of red salsa and a sprinkle of cotija cheese. The green salsa has a guacamole base, giving it a thicker consistency that clings to the flautas. It’s tart and vibrant, tinged with tomatillos and chile peppers. And Torres says he uses just enough of his secret red salsa to add a punch of heat. If you want to try the flautas, you’ll have to track them down on Instagram @losdoradosla. Torres isn’t planning to open a bricks-and-mortar anytime soon, if ever. “I really love the feel of the truck, being out in different locations and having people come out,” he said. “There’s something special about being in the street serving food, and I think I’ll keep that going for a long time.”

Acclaimed French director Bertrand Tavernier has died at 79

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-25/acclaimed-french-director-bertrand-tavernier-is-dead-aged-79

French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, who directed lauded movies such “A Sunday in the Country,” “Captain Conan” and “The Judge and the Assassin,” has died, according to his family. He was 79. Tavernier’s wife and children said Thursday that he died in Sainte-Maxime, a community in southeastern France. The Lyon-born director left behind a legacy of 30 films that included performances by stars of French cinema such as Romy Schneider, Isabelle Huppert and Dirk Bogarde. Tributes for Tavernier and his work came from far and wide. Former French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Tavernier’s films would “remain masterpieces of French cinema.” Born April 25, 1941, Tavernier wore various caps during his career in cinema. He worked as an assistant director, press officer and critic took a turn toward directing. He first found success with 1974’s “The Watchmaker of St. Paul,” and 1976’s “The Judge and the Assassin” won two César Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars. The 1991 movie “Daddy Nostalgia” was famous for being Bogarde’s final screen role. Although Tavernier was less well-known in the English-speaking world, his 1987 feature film about a fictional jazz musician, “Round Midnight,” won Herbie Hancock an Oscar for best original score. Tavernier was married to French-Irish screenwriter Claudine O’Hagan, better known as Colo Tavernier, from 1965 to 1980. O’Hagan died last June. They had two children together: writer Tiffany Tavernier and director and actor Nils Tavernier. Colo Tavernier wrote the screenplay for several of her husband’s films and won the César for best adaptation for “A Sunday in the Country” in 1985.

Science panel: Consider air cooling tech as climate backup

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-25/science-panel-consider-air-cooling-tech-as-climate-back-up

The U.S. must seriously consider the idea of tinkering with the atmosphere to cool a warming Earth and accelerate research into how and whether humanity should hack the planet, the National Academy of Sciences said Thursday. The report by the academy, set up by Abraham Lincoln to provide the government with expert advice, doesn’t recommend carrying out solar geoengineering to bounce heat back to space. At least not yet. But an emergency plan needs to be explored, the report says, because climate change-driven extreme weather has worsened since the last time the academy looked at the highly charged issue in 2015. That requires coordinated research into whether air-tinkering technology would work, its potentially dangerous side effects, its ethics and the potential for political fall-out. The report looks at three possible ways to cool the air: Putting heat-reflecting particles in the stratosphere, changing the brightness of ocean clouds and thinning high clouds. Toward a more sustainable California Get Boiling Point, our newsletter exploring climate change, energy and the environment, and become part of the conversation — and the solution. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. “Climate engineering is a really dumb idea, but it might not be as dumb as doing nothing at this point or continuing to do what we’ve been doing,” said Scripps Institution of Oceanography atmospheric chemist Lynn Russell, a co-author of the report. “It has a lot of risks and those are important to learn as much as we can about.” The panel recommended ramping up research spending by several fold to $40 million a year, along with “exit ramps” to end study if an unacceptable risk is found. “I honestly don’t know whether or not it’s going to make sense,” said committee chairman Chris Field of Stanford University. Science & Medicine In 1965, leading scientists of the day produced a report for President Lyndon B. April 24, 2019 Critics, such as Oxford University’s Raymond Pierrehumbert, worry that there’s a “moral hazard” providing a tempting option to use questionable technology instead of the necessary cutting back on carbon pollution. He said the term geoengineering wrongly makes it sound as if humans have control over heat like a thermostat does. Texas A&M University’s Andrew Dessler sees geoengineering as a safety feature for the planet, like car airbags you hope to never need. A Harvard team is working on a small-scale experiment that would eventually use a balloon to put a few pounds of aerosols 12 miles into the air to reflect the sun. That group hopes to run a system test, with no chemical injection, later this year over Sweden. World & Nation Alarmed by the rapid pace of climate change, a key federal science panel is urging a major research effort into high-tech schemes that could cool the planet if prevention fails, potentially including giant machines to suck greenhouse gases from the air, aerosol sprays shot into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight back into space, and fertilizers for the ocean to boost growth of carbon-hungry plants. Feb. 10, 2015 The new report is more forceful than the 2015 version, detailing government oversight and how research should be done, said academy president Marcia McNutt, who chaired the earlier study. Is geoengineering too risky to even consider? “It is not so much playing with fire as it is researching fire, so that we understand it well enough to deploy, if necessary,″ said Waleed Abdalati, a former NASA chief scientist who was on the 2015 panel. “Sometimes you have to examine very risky options when the stakes are as high as they are with climate change.”

U.S. jobless claims fall to 684,000, fewest since pandemic began

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-25/us-jobless-claims-fall-to-684-000-fewest-since-pandemic

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 684,000, the fewest since the pandemic erupted a year ago and a sign that the economy is improving. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell from 781,000 the week before. It is the first time that weekly applications for jobless aid have fallen below 700,000 since mid-March of last year. Before the pandemic tore through the economy, applications had never topped that level. Still, a total of 18.9 million people are continuing to collect jobless benefits, up from 18.2 million the previous week. Roughly one-third of those recipients are in extended federal aid programs, which means they’ve been unemployed for at least six months. Their prolonged joblessness could prove to be a long-term hindrance: Typically, many people who have been unemployed for extended periods struggle to find work even as the economy regains its health. The economy has been showing signs of emerging from the pandemic crisis with renewed vigor, with spending picking up, manufacturing strengthening and employers adding workers. Hiring increased in February, with 379,000 jobs added — more than double January’s total. Credit card data from JPMorgan Chase showed that consumer spending jumped last week as the $1,400 checks that are going to most adults under President Biden’s $1.9-trillion emergency aid package began to be paid out. The Treasury Department says it has distributed 127 million payments worth $325 billion. Last week, Federal Reserve policymakers substantially boosted their forecast for the economy this year, anticipating growth of 6.5% for 2021, up from an estimate of just 4.2% three months ago. That would be the fastest pace of expansion in any year since 1984. The Fed also projects that the unemployment rate will reach 4.5% by the end of this year, down from the current 6.2%. Historically, the weekly unemployment claims figure has been considered an accurate reflection of the pace of layoffs. But that connection has weakened during the pandemic. Suspicions of widespread fraud and the processing of backlogged claims have distorted many states’ jobless aid data. That has been particularly true for the federal program that covers the self-employed and gig workers; this data has fluctuated wildly in many states. And a report from the California Policy Lab last week illustrated another complicating factor: Many people have applied multiple times during the pandemic, having been initially laid off or furloughed, then been called back to work, then been laid off again. Each layoff has triggered a new application for unemployment benefits. The California Policy Lab’s report found that 75% of jobless claims in the state in the final week of February were from people who had previously been laid off and applied for benefits. Across the country, economic activity slowed in February as severe winter weather caused sharp drops in home sales, retail spending and orders for heavy factory goods. Most economists, though, say they think the economy is now rebounding as the weather improves and additional support from the $1.9-trillion federal rescue package kicks in. Some analysts are increasingly optimistic that hiring will accelerate quickly this year. Two senior fellows at the Brookings Institution have forecast that employers will add a substantial 700,000 to 1 million jobs per month, on average, over the next 10 months. At the higher end of that estimate, the economy by year’s end would have regained all the 9.5 million jobs that remain lost to the pandemic. There are still risks that could frustrate such hopes. The number of new daily coronavirus infections has leveled off, though hospitalizations and deaths continue to fall. And as many states have dropped or relaxed pandemic-related restrictions on gatherings and business activity, another wave of infections could weigh on the economy. Although growth may accelerate this year, hiring often lags behind economic growth as businesses wait to see whether rising demand is sustainable. What’s more, roughly 4 million Americans stopped looking for work during the pandemic and aren’t counted in the unemployment rate. Most of them will need to be rehired for the economic recovery to be fully complete.

Can I take painkillers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine?

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-25/can-i-take-painkillers-before-or-after-a-covid-19-vaccine

Can I take painkillers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine? Don’t take them before a shot to try to prevent symptoms, but if your doctor agrees, it’s OK to use them afterward if needed. The concern about painkillers is that they might curb the very immune system response that a vaccine aims to spur. Vaccines work by tricking the body into thinking it has a virus and mounting a defense against it. That may cause temporary arm soreness, fever, muscle aches or other symptoms of inflammation — signs the vaccine is doing its job. Science & Medicine The side effects of a second shot of COVID-19 vaccine are a sign that it’s providing more vigorous, long-lasting protection against the coronavirus. March 19, 2021 Some research suggests that certain painkillers, including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and other brands), might diminish the immune system’s response. A study on mice suggests these drugs might lower production of antibodies, which are needed to block the virus from infecting cells. Other research has found that painkillers might dampen the response to some childhood vaccines. That’s why many pediatricians recommend that parents avoid giving children the medicines before a shot and only if needed afterward, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance to recommend against painkillers before a COVID-19 shot. The agency says they can be taken afterward for symptoms if you have no other medical conditions precluding their use, but advises people to talk to a doctor first. If you’re already taking one of those medications for a health condition, you should not stop before you get the vaccine — at least not without asking your doctor, said Dr. Jonathan Watanabe, a pharmacist at UC Irvine. World & Nation It’s best to avoid certain painkillers before and after getting a COVID-19 vaccine, unless you routinely take them for a medical condition. Feb. 4, 2021 If you’re looking to relieve symptoms after your shot, he added, acetaminophen (Tylenol) is better because it works in a different way than some other painkillers. “If you have a reaction afterwards and need something, take some acetaminophen,” Schaffner agreed. He added that the immune response generated by the vaccines is strong enough that any dampening effect by painkillers is likely slight and won’t undermine the shots. The CDC offers other tips, such as holding a cool, wet washcloth over the area of the shot and exercising that arm. For fever, drink lots of fluids and dress lightly. Call your doctor if redness or tenderness in the arm increases after a day or if side effects don’t go away after a few days, the CDC says.

'Nomadland' wins PGA Award, cementing front-runner status

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2021-03-24/nomadland-wins-pga-award-cementing-front-runner-status

Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” cemented its Oscar front-runner status Wednesday, winning the top award at the 32nd annual Producers Guild of America Awards. “Nomadland,” Zhao’s recession-era portrait of itinerant people in the American West, is only the second film directed by a woman to win the producers’ Darryl F. Zanuck award for outstanding producer of a motion picture. The other was Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” in 2010. In a delayed, virtual and very long awards season that has marched along during the pandemic with little of the usual pomp, declaring a clear front-runner has been challenging. But if any film could claim that mantle, it’s “Nomadland,” winner of the Golden Globe best picture award for drama. Zhao too is considered the favorite for best director. If she does win, she would be only the second female director to do so, again after Bigelow. “Nomadland,” made for less than $5 million and with many nonprofessional actors, is an unusually low-budget winner for the PGA honor, which has traditionally gone to larger-scale productions. “In a year where we have all been leading such isolated lives and movies felt so vital, we are proud to have produced a film about community and what connects us,” said producer Peter Spears, accepting the award in a taped message. Awards It’s a thrill to be nominated, sure. But everyone wants to win that Oscar too. March 22, 2021 The PGA Awards are watched especially closely as an Oscar bellwether. The producers use the same preferential ballot as the film academy, and their best-picture fields often nearly mirror each other. This year, the producers nominated a few movies the academy passed over for best picture (“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” “One Night in Miami,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) while skipping one that landed the Oscar nomination: “The Father.” In the 11 years since the Oscars expanded the best-picture category, the two groups have picked the same winner eight times. They differed last year, when the guild chose “1917” and the academy crowned “Parasite”; in 2017, when “La La Land” triumphed with the PGA and “Moonlight” won the Oscar; and in 2016, when “The Big Short” topped the producers’ awards and “Spotlight” won the Academy Award. Other awards went to Pixar’s “Soul” for animated film and “My Octopus Teacher” for documentary. The awards Wednesday were held virtually and pre-taped for an invite-only audience. Opening the ceremony, “Blackish” actor Tracee Ellis Ross said of the show: “This, in and of itself, is an experiment in producing.”

Rachel Levine becomes first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-24/a-first-us-senate-confirms-transgender-doctor-for-key-post

Voting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nation’s assistant secretary of Health. She is the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation. The final vote was 52 to 48. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Democrats in supporting Levine. Levine had been serving as Pennsylvania’s top health official since 2017 and emerged as the public face of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She is expected to oversee Department of Health and Human Services offices and programs across the U.S. President Biden cited Levine’s experience when he nominated her in January. Levine “will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their ZIP Code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability,” Biden said. Transgenderrights activists have hailed Levine’s appointment as a historic breakthrough. Few trans people have ever held high-level offices at the federal or state level. However, the confirmation vote came at a challenging moment for the transgender rights movement as legislatures across the U.S. — primarily those under Republican control — are considering an unprecedented wave of bills targeting trans young people. One type of bill, introduced in at least 25 states, seeks to ban trans girls and young women from participating in female scholastic sports. One such measure already has been signed into law by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, and similar measures have been sent to the governors in Tennessee, Arkansas and South Dakota. Another variety of bill, introduced in at least 17 states, seeks to outlaw or restrict certain types of medical care for transgender youths. None of these measures has yet won final approval. Issues related to transgender rights also are a major factor in Republican opposition to the proposed Equality Act, which would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people across the U.S. The measure has passed the Democratic-led House but probably needs some GOP votes to prevail in the Senate. World & Nation In 2012, Vice President Joe Biden led the way in endorsing same-sex marriage. As president-elect, he is making sweeping promises to LGBTQ activists. Nov. 28, 2020 Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, president of the LGBTQ Victory Institute, alluded to those developments as she welcomed the Senate’s vote on Levine. “At a time when hateful politicians are weaponizing trans lives for their own perceived political gain, Dr. Levine’s confirmation lends focus to the contributions trans people make to our nation,” said Parker, whose organization recruits and supports LGBTQ political candidates. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) who voted no, had confronted Levine about medical treatments for transgender young people — include hormone treatment and puberty blockers — during her confirmation hearing Feb. 25. “Do you believe that minors are capable of making such a life-changing decision as changing one’s sex?” Paul asked. Levine replied that transgender medicine “is a very complex and nuanced field with robust research and standards of care” and said she would welcome discussing the issues with him. In the past, Levine has asserted that hormone therapy and puberty-blocking drugs can be valuable medical tools in sparing some transgender youths from mental distress and possible suicide risk. The confirmation vote was assailed by the conservative Family Research Council, which contended that Levine, in addition to her stance on transgender medical care, had supported “a variety of pro-abortion and anti-religious freedom proposals” while serving as Pennsylvania’s health secretary. “Levine may be the most extreme radical ever confirmed by the Senate,” said Travis Weber, the council’s vice president for policy and government affairs. A pediatrician and former Pennsylvania physician general, Levine was appointed as Pennsylvania’s health secretary by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017. She won confirmation by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate. However, Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, voted against Levine’s confirmation Wednesday. “In Pennsylvania, the pandemic struck seniors in nursing homes disproportionately hard compared to other states,” Toomey said. “This was due in part to poor decisions and oversight by Dr. Levine and the Wolf administration.” He also said an extended lockdown advocated by Levine “was excessive, arbitrary in nature, and has led to a slower recovery.” A graduate of Harvard and of Tulane Medical School, Levine is president of the Assn. of State and Territorial Health Officials. She’s written in the past on the opioid crisis, medical marijuana, adolescent medicine, eating disorders and LGBTQ medicine. Praise for her accomplishments and her handling of the pandemic have coincided with a steady stream of vitriol directed at at her on social media. As reported Tuesday by the Associated Press, Levine was among the targets of a private Facebook group called the Pittsburgh Area Police Breakroom whose participants included many current and retired police officers. Dozens of group members fueled days of transphobic posts about Levine for her role in statewide social-distancing mandates to stop the spread of COVID-19. “Someone needs to shoot this thing!!” one retired officer wrote. In January, a Pennsylvania legislator shared on Facebook an image mocking Levine’s appearance, then offered a general apology. State Rep. Jeff Pyle, a Republican, said on Facebook that he “had no idea” the post mocking Levine “would be … received as poorly as it was” but that “tens of thousands of heated emails assured me it was.”

The 15 jurors selected for the trial of Derek Chauvin

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-23/the-15-jurors-selected-for-the-trial-of-derek-chauvin

MINNEAPOLIS — Fifteen jurors have been selected for the case against Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death last year. Twelve jurors and two alternates will hear the evidence, but a 15th person was chosen in case one of the panelists is unable to serve when opening statements begin Monday. The 15th person will be dismissed at the start of trial if the rest of the jury remains intact. The panel includes six men and nine women; nine are white, four are Black, and two are multiracial, according to the court. They include a chemist, a nurse, a social worker and a grandmother. Here is a closer look at the panel, in the order in which the jurors were selected. They are identified by juror number only; the judge has ordered their names withheld until after the trial due to the high-profile nature of the case. The jurors’ races and approximate ages were provided by the court. Juror No. 2 is a white man in his 20s who works as a chemist. With a combined degree in environmental studies and chemistry, he works in a lab where he tests samples for contaminants that may be harmful to the environment or worker hygiene. He said he enjoys outdoor activities, including Ultimate Frisbee, backpacking and biking. He and his fiancee visited Minneapolis’ George Floyd Square because Floyd’s killing was such a “transformative event for that area.” Juror No. 2 said he worked for seven or eight summers at a camp through his childhood synagogue. He considers himself to be a logical thinker and is the only juror on the panel who said he has never seen bystander video of Floyd’s arrest. Juror No. 9 is a multiracial woman in her 20s who has Type 1 diabetes. She grew up in northern Minnesota and has an uncle who is a police officer in that area. She described herself as a “go-with-the-flow, open-minded type of person” and said she was “super excited” to get her jury notice. She said she has watched the bystander video once, and it gave her a “somewhat negative” impression of Chauvin. She said, “That video just makes you sad. Nobody wants to see somebody die, whether it was his fault or not.” She said there could be other explanations for Chauvin’s actions, suggesting that Floyd might have been resisting or civilian lives may have been in danger. Juror No. 19 is a white man in his 30s. He is an auditor who said he tries to resolve conflict and make decisions based on facts, not emotions. He has a friend who is a canine officer with the Minneapolis Police Department. He said he supports Black Lives Matter as a general concept but disagrees with some of the ways group members go about things. He has an unfavorable opinion of Blue Lives Matter. He wrote in his questionnaire that he heard Floyd was on hard drugs but said he doesn’t believe it should have much impact on the case. “Whether you are under the influence of drugs doesn’t determine whether you should be living or dead,” he said. Juror No. 27 is a Black man in his 30s who immigrated to America more than 14 years ago. He went to school in Nebraska and moved to Minnesota in 2012. He manages eight people at his job in IT security and speaks multiple languages, including French. He and his wife have no children but do have a dog. He is a big fan of the Minnesota Gophers and loves the Vikings. He said he had a somewhat negative view of Chauvin, based on clips of bystander video he saw on TV. He said he talked with his wife about Floyd’s death: “We talked about how it could have been me, or anyone else,” he said. Juror No. 27 said he hopes to learn more about the events that led up to Floyd’s arrest. Juror No. 44 is a white woman in her 50s, a single mom of two teenage boys. She is an executive in the nonprofit sector, working in healthcare advocacy. She said she had prior professional dealings with Minnesota Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison but said this would not affect her impartiality. She said she was exposed to a lot of news about this case, adding that the media are biased and don’t have all the facts. She saw only part of the bystander video and said she has empathy for both Floyd and Chauvin. She said she had a somewhat negative view of Chauvin and a neutral opinion of Floyd, saying he was not a model citizen but didn’t “deserve to die.” She said she strongly agrees that the criminal justice system is biased against racial and ethnic minorities. “Not all police are bad,” she said. “I don’t want them terrorized or disrespected. But bad police need to go.” Juror No. 52 is a Black man in his 30s. He describes himself as a friendly, positive person. He works in banking and likes sports, especially basketball. He coaches youth sports and as a hobby writes creatively, including scripts and poetry. He said he had neutral opinions on Chauvin and Floyd. He said he has not seen the bystander video in its entirety but has seen clips of it two or three times. He hasn’t posted about the case on social media but has talked with family and friends. He wrote in his questionnaire that his opinion has been “why didn’t the other officers stop Chauvin.” “I don’t know if he was doing something wrong or not, but somebody died … Even if you have no intention of doing something and something happens, somebody could’ve still intervened and prevented that,” he said. He has a very favorable view of Black Lives Matter, saying, “Black lives just want to be treated as equals and not killed or treated in an aggressive manner simply because they are Black.” Juror No. 55 is a white woman in her 50s who is a single mother of two; the youngest is a teenager. She works as an executive assistant at a healthcare clinic and sells Pampered Chef kitchen products. She enjoys riding motorcycles, saying she picked up the hobby because her late husband was interested in it, and she rides with him now “in the spirit.” She said she was “disturbed” by the bystander video and “I just couldn’t watch it anymore.” She said she has a somewhat unfavorable view of Chauvin because she feels he could’ve handled the situation differently. Still, she said she wouldn’t be able to form an opinion until she has all of the facts. She has a basic trust in police officers and a somewhat unfavorable view of Black Lives Matter, saying, “All lives matter to me. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they are.” Juror No. 79 is a Black man in his 40s, a father who works in management and has lived in the Twin Cities area for about two decades after immigrating to America. He said he lives in a suburb, and his home was burglarized once, and police responded appropriately, even though the suspect was never caught. He said he trusts police but also feels it’s appropriate for jurors to evaluate an officer’s actions. “I would say it’s another pair of eyes and a new mind just looking at the action,” he said. He has a son who is about to take driver’s education. He said he would tell his son that when police stop him, he should cooperate. When asked if people who don’t cooperate have themselves to blame, he said, “Cooperation is good. … You help everybody.” Juror No. 85 is a multiracial woman in her 40s, who is married and has a small child. She grew up in a river town and attended college in western Wisconsin. She is a consultant who helps companies with reorganizations and other transitions. She said she has a neutral view of Floyd, writing in her questionnaire that she knew he died “as a result of this encounter” but did not know what his actions were before it happened. When pressed as to whether she thought Chauvin was responsible, she said: “No, I never heard what a cause of death was.” She said she has a strong faith in police, but they are human and can make mistakes. She said she would generally agree that if someone does not cooperate, he or she might have themselves to blame. “You respect police, and you do what they ask,” she said. Juror No. 89 is a white woman in her 50s who lives in a suburb. She is a registered nurse working with patients on ventilators, including those with COVID-19, and has prior experience in cardiac care. She was questioned extensively about her experience as a nurse, whether she has ever resuscitated anyone and how she would view medical evidence in the case. The woman said she would draw upon her knowledge to evaluate medical testimony but said she’d refrain from using her knowledge in the jury room. She said she somewhat disagrees that it’s not right to second-guess decisions officers make. Juror No. 91 is a Black woman in her 60s. She is a grandmother of two who studied child psychology and worked in marketing before she retired, and she felt strongly that being on a jury was her civic duty. The woman, who volunteers with underserved youth, said she watched the bystander video of Floyd’s arrest for about four or five minutes, then shut it off because “it just wasn’t something that I needed to see.” She grew up about 10 or 15 blocks from the site of Floyd’s arrest but said she moved decades ago and has no reason to revisit the area. She had a very favorable view of Black Lives Matter, writing in her questionnaire, “I am Black and my life matters,” though she said she is not familiar with the organization. She has a relative who is a police officer in Minneapolis. Juror No. 92 is a white woman in her 40s who works in the commercial insurance business. She said she has experience with someone who struggled with alcohol and might view someone who uses drugs cautiously, out of fear they could act violently or aggressively when under the influence. Still, she said, she doesn’t agree that someone who uses drugs or doesn’t cooperate with police should be treated poorly. “If someone uses drugs, I don’t think there should be ramifications of violence for that,” she said. Juror No. 96 is a white woman in her 50s who worked in customer service but is between jobs. She has done volunteer work with the homeless and wants to work on issues related to affordable housing. She said she has seen only clips of the video of Floyd’s arrest and needs to learn more about what happened beforehand. She said she has never personally seen police officers respond to Black people or minorities with more force than white people. She also said a person should have nothing to fear from police if they cooperate and comply with commands —though she stopped short of saying that means a person deserves to be harmed. “If you’re not listening to what the commands are, obviously something else needs to happen to resolve the situation,” she said of officers’ actions. “I don’t know how far the steps need to go.” Juror No. 118 is a white woman in her 20s who was married in October and recently got a goldendoodle puppy. She has been a social worker for five years and coordinates in-home services for people of all ages and mental health diagnoses to help them live independently. She said she has had conversations with others about police reform and said she thinks “there are things that should be changed.” But she described police and their jobs as important and said she is “always looking at every side of things.” Juror No. 131, a white man in his 20s, is an accountant who is married and has a Bernese mountain dog puppy. He is a sports fan who enjoys March Madness and plays sports himself, including tennis. He said he approaches things with an analytical mind. He said he initially formed a somewhat negative opinion of Chauvin, saying the duration of his restraint on Floyd was longer than necessary. He said Floyd’s death sparked discussions about racism at work, and he decided to read a book about the subject. He said he respects police and views Black Lives Matter somewhat favorably but noted he believes some frustrations contributed to violent unrest in Minneapolis. He also said he understands that professional athletes who kneel during the national anthem are trying to start a dialogue on race, but “I would prefer if someone would express their beliefs in a different manner.”

At least 15 found dead after Bangladesh Rohingya camp blaze

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-23/at-least-15-found-dead-after-bangladesh-rohingya-camp-blaze

Rescuers recovered at least 15 charred bodies from a Rohingya refugee camp in southern Bangladesh after a devastating fire destroyed thousands of shelters, officials said Tuesday. At least 400 people were still missing and about 560 were injured in the fire, said Louise Donovan, a spokesperson for the United Nations’ refugee agency. The UNHCR said about 45,000 people were displaced by the fire, which broke out Monday afternoon and burned well into the night. In the aftermath, refugees picked through the burned debris looking for their belongings. Others wept. “Yesterday before the fire started, my kids went to study at the Islamic school. I did not see them after they came back. I found two of my older kids but I still can’t find my youngest son,” said Shappuni, a Rohingya refugee who uses only one name. At least three of the dead were children and the search for victims was still ongoing, said Nizam Uddin Ahmed, the top government official in Ukhiya, a sub-region of the Cox’s Bazar district where the camp is located. Relief teams on the ground were stunned by the unprecedented level of destruction, said Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. “This tragic event could have been less disastrous had barbed wire fencing not been erected encircling the camps. NRC staff have heard horrific accounts from refugees about their scramble to cut through the wire fences to save their families, escape the fire and reach safety,” Egeland said. Bangladesh has sheltered more than a million Rohingya Muslims in crowded refugee camps, the vast majority having fled neighboring Myanmar in 2017 amid a major crackdown by that country’s military. The U.N. has said the crackdown had a genocidal intent, a charge Myanmar rejects. World & Nation Seven Bangladesh navy ships carrying more than 1,800 Rohingya refugees have arrived at an isolated island where they will be relocated. Dec. 29, 2020 Bangladesh is eager to begin sending the refugees back to Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Several attempts at repatriation under a joint agreement failed because the Rohingya refused to go, fearing more violence in a country that denies them basic rights including citizenship. The huge fire comes just months ahead of Bangladesh’s monsoon season, when cyclones and heavy rains between June and October batter the region and often lead to floods. In January, another fire destroyed hundreds of shanty-like homes in the camp, leaving thousands without shelter. The Danish Refugee Council characterized the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar as the world’s largest refugee complex, and said Monday’s fire displaced 27,000 people. A situation report from the U.N. World Food Program said up to 87,855 people were affected by the fire, with many taking refuge in nearby camps, at friends’ shelters, learning centers or temporary transit sites. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said an estimated 123,000 refugees in the camps were affected by the fire. The differing figures could not immediately be reconciled. The federation said more than 1,000 staff and volunteers had worked through the night with firefighters, camp residents and other agencies to rescue people and douse the fire. “We are providing relief through food and water, and erecting emergency shelters for people who have lost their homes. These devastating fires will require even greater efforts by all agencies in the coming weeks, particularly as the cyclone season approaches,” said M. A. Halim, head of operations in Cox’s Bazar for the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, in a statement.

GameStop's fourth-quarter earnings and sales fall short of Wall Street’s expectations

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-23/gamestops-4q-earnings-sales-fall-short-of-streets-views

A hefty tax benefit helped drive GameStop’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit sharply higher, but the video-game retailer’s sales declined despite a surge in its online business. The company’s latest results fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. The company, whose stock price soared in January after a social media-fueled frenzy, said Tuesday that its would suspend providing earnings guidance as it focuses on an effort to transform into a more online-focused retailer. The Grapevine, Texas, company reported net income of $80.5 million, or $1.19 per share, for the three months that ended Jan. 30. That compares with net income of $21 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results include a nearly $70-million tax benefit. Adjusted for that and other one-time items, the company’s earnings amounted to $1.34 a share, versus $1.27 a year earlier. Business GameStop theories are about a dime a dozen, and that’s what they’re worth. Feb. 1, 2021 Revenue fell to $2.12 billion, from $2.19 billion. Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings of $1.35 a share on $2.21 billion in revenue, according to FactSet. The company said global e-commerce sales made up 34% of net sales in the fourth quarter compared with 12% in the year-ago quarter. As GameStop attempts to transition more of its business online, the company recently named board member Ryan Cohen to spearhead that transition. GameStop shares were little changed in after-hours trading. They fell 6.6% to $181.75 in the regular trading session.

Britain reflects on 'grief and loss' a year after first lockdown

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-03-23/uk-reflects-on-grief-and-loss-a-year-from-first-lockdown

The U.K. has a lot to reflect on. A year to the day since Prime Minister Boris Johnson first put the country under lockdown to slow the fast-spreading coronavirus, Britain paused Tuesday to remember those who had died of COVID-19 and to reflect on a 12-month period that turned life upside down. The U.K. has registered more than 126,000 virus-related deaths, the highest pandemic death toll in Europe and one of the highest in the world. The country has spent much of the past year in lockdown. The country observed a minute’s silence at noon to remember the dead as part of a national day of reflection organized by the end-of-life charity Marie Curie. People are being encouraged to stand on their doorsteps at 8 p.m. with phones, candles and flashlights to signify a “beacon of remembrance.” Johnson thanked the British public for their “courage, discipline and patience.” “For the entire British people, it has been an epic of endurance and privation,” Johnson said at a televised news conference. “Of children’s birthday parties canceled, of weddings postponed, of family gatherings of all kinds simply deleted from the diary. “And worst of all in that time we’ve suffered so many losses. And for so many people, our grief has been made more acute because we have not been able to see our loved ones in their final days, to hold their hands or even to mourn them together.” Queen Elizabeth II sent a bouquet of flowers to London’s St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, where her husband, Prince Philip, was recently treated for a heart condition. “As we look forward to a brighter future together, today we pause to reflect on the grief and loss that continues to be felt by so many people and families, and pay tribute to the immeasurable service of those who have supported us all over the last year,” she said in an accompanying note. London’s skyline will turn yellow when landmarks including the London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Wembley Stadium light up at nightfall. Other notable buildings that will be illuminated include Cardiff Castle and Belfast City Hall. Churches and cathedrals plan to toll bells, light thousands of candles and offer prayers. Few foresaw the scale of death and grief to come when Johnson, in a prime-time televised address on March 23, 2020, issued a “very simple instruction” for people to stay at home. Johnson, who within days of issuing the stay-at-home order was hospitalized in intensive care with the virus, has faced criticism for delaying the first lockdown. Italy had been the first European country to go into lockdown earlier in March 2020, followed by most of the rest of the continent. The delay, many argue, led to the U.K. recording the most deaths in Europe during the first wave of the pandemic, despite the valiant efforts of people working in the National Health Service, which has endured its most difficult period since its creation just after World War II. Further delays in reimposing nationwide lockdowns following the easing of restrictions over the summer and fall have similarly been blamed for exacerbating Britain’s high COVID-19 death toll, especially this year, when a new, more contagious variant of the virus first identified in southeast England became the dominant strain. Calls are growing, particularly among bereaved families, for the government to back a public inquiry into its handling of the pandemic. Johnson has said one will come but that it would be a distraction now. Beyond the devastating death toll, the pandemic has affected every aspect of day-to-day life, most evident in the boarded-up shops and the eerily quiet city centers. Children have spent many months cooped up at home, with their often-agitated parents and siblings, struggling to deal with the realities of life under lockdown. The pandemic has battered the British economy, which suffered its deepest recession in more than 300 years. Pubs, restaurants, theaters, hair salons and all stores selling nonessential items such as books and footwear have spent much of the past year closed. The economy remains almost 10% smaller than it was just over a year ago, and there are fears that many businesses won’t able to survive for long once the government starts withdrawing its unprecedented financial support. There is some hope that the rapid rollout of coronavirus vaccines — more than half the adult population has already had one of the two doses they need — will allow lockdown to be eased in the coming weeks. Johnson insists his government’s plan to lift restrictions in England will be guided by “data, not dates,” but that life could be very much more normal by the height of summer. The other nations of the U.K. — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have outlined similar plans. But confirmed cases are again increasing in much of Europe, and Johnson said Monday that Britain would also likely face a new wave of the pandemic. “Previous experience has taught us that when a wave hits our friends,” he said, “it washes up on our shores as well.”