Two toxic contaminants present in California’s ambient air appear to be much stronger carcinogens than previously known, state environmental health officials announced Thursday. The draft finding from the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment says that acrolein and ethylene oxide may pose an estimated cancer risk more than 10 times higher than benzene, a … Read more
When my parents and I immigrated from Liberia to the US in the 1990s, our first home was my grandmother’s two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her house became a refuge as my parents found their footing in a new country. Living with her gave them childcare help and the breathing room to find work, … Read more
A Los Angeles judge has denied a petition by State Farm and other insurers to dismiss two lawsuits accusing them of colluding to drive homeowners onto California’s FAIR Plan. The lawsuits, which accuse the insurers of violating the state’s antirust and unfair competition laws, were largely upheld in a decision Thursday by Los Angeles County … Read more
Lake Balboa resident Jose Meraz is looking for a mayor who will turn L.A. around, cleaning up streets that he says are “filled with garbage.” Schoolteacher Tracey Schroeder, a Republican candidate for state Assembly, is unhappy about crime, open-air drug use and the slow rebuilding effort in the wake of the Palisades fire, which destroyed … Read more
AI-powered marketing platform Nectar Social announced Thursday that it raised a $30 million Series A round led by Menlo Ventures and its Anthology Fund, which was created alongside Anthropic. The company, which officially exited stealth last year, is an agentic operating system for marketers. It told TechCrunch that it uses autonomous AI agents to help … Read more
Brian Lindstrom, a filmmaker whose documentaries shined a light on society’s underdogs and inspired social change, has died. He was 65. Lindstrom’s wife, author Cheryl Strayed, confirmed the news on Instagram Friday. “Brian Lindstrom died this morning the way he lived — with gentleness and courage, grace and gratitude for his beautiful life,” she wrote. … Read more
SEATTLE — Gabriel Pec had a goal and an assist to back goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and the Galaxy beat Seattle 2-0 on Saturday night, ending the Sounders’ 22-match unbeaten streak at home as well as a nine-match unbeaten run this season. Greg Vanney led Los Angeles to its first victory in Seattle since July 9, 2016 — … Read more
MEXICO CITY — The highway from the Guadalajara city airport to downtown is newly paved and the city’s famous roundabout has gotten a $4-million facelift. The city is abuzz with renovation projects as Guadalajara prepares to host four World Cup soccer matches in June. But there’s one thing the 3 million fans expected to flock to the … Read more
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tse Hao Guang, a 38-year-old researcher and writer based in Singapore. It has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… I started a creative publishing project to spotlight emerging writers, with the goal of not losing money doing it. My journey in literature began … Read more
On a recent weekday morning inside a studio in the heart of Hollywood, Rachel Lindsay and Van Lathan, co-hosts of The Ringer’s “Higher Learning,” were getting ready to roll. By the time the podcasters came into the Spotify Sycamore Studios for their show, which covers all things in Black culture and politics, the overhead lights … Read more
BATON ROUGE, La. — Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican who has drawn President Trump’s ire by occasionally casting votes he dislikes, failed to advance in Saturday’s GOP primary runoff in Louisiana, as a Trump-backed rival and another candidate finished in the top two spots. U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow won the most votes, capitalizing on the power of … Read more
The vibes around the current AI boom aren’t great, even in the tech industry, according to a lengthy social media post from Menlo Ventures partner Deedy Das. Das described San Francisco as “pretty frenetic right now,” as “the divide in outcomes is the worst I’ve ever seen.” Using a “back of the envelope AI calculation,” … Read more
The television industry has changed dramatically over the last decade, but one tradition that won’t die is the annual gathering of ad-buying execs in Manhattan to hear the pitches of networks and streamers looking to sell their commercial time. This past week’s lavish presentations, known as the upfronts, included the usual array of big-name actors … Read more
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Aaron Rai shifted into high gear Sunday and pulled away from a world-class field with one amazing shot after another until he became the first English-born player in more than a century to capture the PGA Championship. Rai, who dreamed of being a Formula 1 driver until he turned to golf as a … Read more
An Iraqi national was arrested Friday for what federal authorities have described as serving in a role with two foreign terrorist organizations and attempting to carry out an attack on a Jewish institution in Los Angeles. Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, 32, is facing several terrorism-related charges alleging that he worked with Kata’ib Hizballah and … Read more