The Sparks were determined to end a season-opening four-game homestand with their second straight win against Toronto. Instead, the expansion Tempo avenged a four-point defeat two days earlier with a 106-96 victory Sunday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena. Guard Kelsey Plum, who started the day tied for the WNBA lead in scoring at 26.3 points per … Read more
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised $349.9-billion budget proposal largely relies on a tax windfall to erase California’s deficit over the next two fiscal years, allowing the Democratic governor to end his term with a surplus and say he’s providing a cushion for his successor. The budget, which Newsom presented Thursday, showcases the governor’s desire to leave … Read more
At a time when AI is reshaping classrooms and raising questions about the future of work, some young people are questioning the value of pursuing higher education at all. While some founders encourage promising students to go into ambitious startups and forgo traditional education, high-earning tech execs continue to champion the value of a college … Read more
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — To Fidel Castro and Cuba’s communist elite, private businesses were totems of capitalist evil. Now, with the country running out of food and fuel, the regime on the brink and anger spreading in the streets, it’s those private businesses — run by once-persecuted, small-scale capitalists — that hold the key to salvaging … Read more
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Thousands of people rallied Saturday in the cradle of the modern civil rights movement to mobilize a new voting rights era as conservative states dismantle congressional districts that helped secure Black political representation. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey called Montgomery “sacred soil” in the fight for civil rights. “If we in our … Read more
ArXiv, a widely used open repository for preprint research, is doing more to crack down on the careless use of large language models in scientific papers. Although papers are posted to the site before they are peer-reviewed, arXiv (pronounced “archive”) has become one of the main ways that research circulates in fields like computer science … Read more
Pedro Pascal took his “Star Wars” character to the streets on Saturday, going undercover as the Mandalorian to surprise Disneyland guests aboard the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run attraction. A video posted on Disney’s social media showed the actor in full costume, then lifting his helmet to reveal himself. “Now you all have to die because … Read more
Angels right fielder Jo Adell threw up his hands to signal that he thought the play should be called dead. Catcher Logan O’Hoppe pointed up the right-field line in dismay. The netting extending from the right-field foul pole at Angel Stadium betrayed the home team on Saturday, resulting in Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani’s Little … Read more
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