Rams become no-doubt Super Bowl favorites From Bill Plaschke: The Rams were six yards from the Super Bowl. The Rams’ celebrated young defense needed only to smother immobile Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold deep in his territory in the final five minutes to regain possession and have a real shot at winning last season’s NFC … Read more
The war in Iran has cost US households $100 billion in three months, Moody’s Analytics says. Now in its fourth month, the conflict has cost nearly $750 per household. The increased cost to consumers has mostly been felt in energy prices, but the inflation picture continues to deteriorate the longer the war drags on without … Read more
At around 1 in the morning at the Sassafras Saloon in Hollywood, four masc lesbians in cowboy hats and chaps were dancing on top of the bar while bartenders attempted to continue making espresso martinis beneath them. One performer crawled into the crowd and between the spread legs of an audience member, licking the air … Read more
p]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix”> Horse racing’s Triple Crown season ends Saturday with the Belmont Stakes, and for the eighth straight year there will be no sweep. In one sense that might not be the worst thing, since this Belmont will be the third straight contested over 1¼ miles at Saratoga instead of the traditional 1½ miles at … Read more
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway seems to finally be loosening the purse strings now that the legendary investor isn’t calling the shots. Berkshire, now run by Greg Abel, has agreed to buy $10 billion of Alphabet stock in a private placement, Google’s parent company said on Monday. Buffett’s conglomerate — which owns Geico, Dairy Queen, and … Read more
As the voters deliver their ballots to neighborhood drop-off sites and others wait to vote in person Tuesday, Times reporters fanned out across the city to ask residents whom they planned to support for mayor. Here is a sample of what voters said about their preferred candidate. ‘The other choices were not worth my vote’ … Read more
Pacific Fusion took the wraps off its latest pulser module prototype on Tuesday, a piece of equipment that allows the company to move ahead with its demonstration fusion power plant. Construction on the fusion power plant is expected to begin this summer. Results from the shipping container-sized prototype were good enough to unlock another tranche … Read more
Dropping a tribute to Ridley Scott’s 1979 “Alien” halfway through his franchise-expanding series wasn’t easy. But Noah Hawley just had to do it. “The show was already a huge lift, and then to sort of make a movie in the middle of it was a challenge for everyone,” says the “Alien: Earth” showrunner, who wrote … Read more
Simon Kuper’s first World Cup memory is of watching the 1978 final in his pajamas from the living room of his home in the Netherlands. He was 8. But he quickly was smitten with the game and the tournament — so much so he has attended every World Cup since 1990. It’s an odyssey Kuper, … Read more
Meta Platforms announced more details about its latest round of layoffs. As part of its already-announced plans to cut close to 10% of its workforce, more than 2,000 employees will be let go across several of its California offices, with 2,200 cuts at its Menlo Park headquarters and 74 layoffs at their Los Angeles office, … Read more
With the California primary just one day away, much of the attention has been centered on the race for governor and L.A.’s mayoral election. And with good reason. You’re reading the Essential California newsletter Sign up to start every day with California’s most important stories. By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, which … Read more
For a few years now, I’ve seen people I’m connected to on social media celebrating their 40th birthdays in style. They’re renting rooms out in restaurants and throwing a big party with all their friends and family. Planning a girls’ weekend with all their friends and drinking and relaxing in the sun. Or just going … Read more
If the last few weeks have shown us anything, it’s that the gubernatorial primary is an unexpectedly close race among a trio unlikely leaders: MAGA Republican Steve Hilton, and Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer. Though Trump endorsed Hilton, a former Fox News host, a Hilton loss may be just what Trump wants — more … Read more
Book Review Whistler By Ann Patchett Harper: 304 pages, $30 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores. At the recent glitzy PEN Ameerica Literary Gala at the Natural History Museum in New York City the evening’s MC, B.J. Novak, declared that … Read more
Approximately 2,000 hospitality workers at SoFi Stadium will begin voting Thursday over whether to authorize a strike just a week before the World Cup is scheduled to kick off at the Inglewood venue. The cooks, dishwashers, concession workers, bartenders and servers represented by Unite Here Local 11 have been working without a contract for a … Read more