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Get essential Los Angeles Times news highlights from the L.A. Times Studios in “Headlines From The Times.” Each episode brings you a bite-sized breakdown of the day’s top news stories and biggest headlines from California and beyond. From politics and climate to entertainment and food, you’ll get the basics behind the trending topics and key news stories that matter most.
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The Department of Homeland Security could shut down this weekend if lawmakers leave Washington for a holiday break without reaching a deal on a funding bill. Meanwhile, inflation cooled in January. New data shows U.S. inflation at 2.4%, just above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. In other news, President Trump repealed the 2009 endangerment finding on greenhouse gases, reversing years of federal climate policy. And in Southern California, a storm is expected to bring moderate rain and potentially dangerous waves to the coast next week. In business, a proposed California bill would extend mortgage relief for homeowners rebuilding after the Palisades and Eaton fires, and Wall Street is selling stocks seen as vulnerable to artificial intelligence disruption. Read more at LATimes.com.
Newly released Justice Department records tied to Jeffrey Epstein mention several prominent Los Angeles figures, including Casey Wasserman, Barry Josephson and Brett Ratner. The documents contain emails, photos and other records ranging from professional to personal, underscoring the breadth of Epstein’s network before his 2019 death while facing sex trafficking charges. Meanwhile, L.A. County officials have voted to place a half-cent sales tax increase on the June ballot. Supporters say the measure would offset expected federal healthcare cuts, while critics question its oversight and impact on taxpayers. In business, major social media companies including Meta, TikTok, and Snap will be evaluated under a new teen safety rating system, and Los Angeles has approved a new adaptive reuse ordinance allowing office buildings to convert into housing.
The Federal Aviation Administration shut down flights coming in and out of El Paso Airport for 10 days, citing "special security reasons." But then, pretty quickly, lifted that order. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says drones from Mexican cartels breached U.S. airspace. And in California, nine people have died inside LA County jails so far this year, an alarming number for the sheriff's department, who's already under investigation by the state over conditions in local lockups. Also, Elon Musk is making waves by merging SpaceX with his AI company. Will there be an AI data center in space? In business, a Super Bowl commercial has ignited a public dispute about ads in chatbots, and the Westminster Mall now has a demolition date. Read more at LATimes.com.
A proposed tax on billionaires in California: Governor Gavin Newsom is against it, Senator Bernie Sanders is for it. Sanders is soon kicking off a campaign to get that measure across the finish line. Basically, the idea is a one-time 5% tax on the assets of the over 200 billionaires in California. Supporters need signatures from about 875,000 registered voters to submit to election officials by the end of June for the measure to qualify for the November election. Meanwhile, San Francisco public schools shut down on Monday, as teachers walked off the job for the first time in nearly 50 years. San Francisco Unified School District is only offering teachers a 6% raise and limited coverage, blaming decreased state funding and a massive deficit. In business, a survey found that Los Angeles and Long Beach homes are among the most expensive in the nation, and BYD toppled Tesla as the world’s leading electric vehicle seller last year due to increased competition due to the end of federal EV tax incentives, growing competition overseas and brand damage. Read more at LATimes.com.
Sunday marked one week since Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" show anchor Savannah Guthrie, was kidnapped from her home in Arizona. Meanwhile, in Italy, the home of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, U.S. athletes are speaking out about politics back home. And in 1946, Minute Maid figured out a way to make orange juice a year-round breakfast staple. But now, after 80 years, the company is halting sales of its frozen juice cans. In business, healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente are raising one of California’s first major labor challenges over artificial intelligence, and 25-year-old Ali Ansari is nearing billionaire status after co-founding an AI startup that employs human experts like lawyers and doctors to train AI models. Read more at LATimes.com.
It's the first day of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Hockey, curling, alpine skiing, luge, and now a new sport: ski mountaineering, also known as "skimo." And another storyline to follow is the return of superstar skier Lindsey Vonn, who was on the sidelines for five years before returning for this year's Olympics. Meanwhile, a $16 billion plan called the Hudson River Tunnel Project is kaput for now after President Trump announced he's withholding its funding. It was seen as one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country. Also, in Los Angeles, traffic jams don't just happen on the freeways, they're happening in the sky too, with the airspace over Hollywood Burbank Airport being some of the most congested in the country. In business, the graffiti towers, officially known as the Oceanwide Plaza, reached a bankruptcy agreement that may open the path to its sale and cleanup, and the Teamsters of California are calling for the state to ban Waymo cars after one struck a child in Santa Monica. Read more at LATimes.com.
United States and Russia are reportedly closing in on a deal to continue the expiring arms control treaty called New START. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has joined the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Response Network. Meanwhile in California, officials have green-lit a controversial plan to eliminate all the deer on Catalina island. And for the first time in over ten years, NHL players are preparing to face off on Olympic ice. In business, the Eddie Bauer retailer may close its stores as its parent company prepares to file for bankruptcy, and new data shows California’s job losses slowed in January even as layoffs surged nationwide. Read more at LATimes.com.
In Washington, the government has, in fact, reopened from after a partial shutdown. Also, President Trump is suggesting the federal government take control of some state elections, which at the moment is illegal. Meanwhile, in New York City, companies are throwing their hat in the ring for a $1.1 billion contract with the city to design subway turnstiles that, in part, prevent fare evasion. And in Los Angeles, several local leaders are calling on the chair of the LA28 Olympics Committee, Casey Wasserman, to resign. In business, California lawmakers are demanding answers from major insurers over strict documentation requirements, and quantum computing company D-Wave plans to move its headquarters to Boca Raton, Florida. Read more at LATimes.com.
It's Groundhog Day, and Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, meaning his prediction is six more weeks of winter weather. Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., the House Rules Committee is meeting on Monday in an effort to fully reopen the government. And Americans are living longer than ever; in 2024, U.S. life expectancy reached 79 years old, the highest mark in country history. In business, the modern day space race is taking over California's Central Coast, raising environmental concerns, and a Palo Alto company is selling flying vehicles that customers can fly within limited airspace and without a pilot's license. Read more at LATimes.com.
Forty years ago today, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after taking off at Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Center; New Hampshire Public Radio spoke to people who knew Christa McAuliffe, who was going to be the first teacher in space. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve voted to keep interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, despite heavy pressure from the White House to lower borrowing costs. Also, new data shows median rent in LA dropped to about $2,100 in December, the lowest in four years. And for the first time since the pandemic, California's population has stalled. In business, California Covered enrollees may see higher premiums now that pandemic-era health insurance subsidies have expired, and Amazon says it will layoff 16,000 workers and shut down its brick-and-mortar stores. Read more at LATimes.com.
TikTok agreed to settle a landmark social media addiction case on Tuesday, just before a jury trial against three of the world's biggest tech companies kicked off. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino is expected to leave Minneapolis as early as today, according to the Associated Press. Also, survivors and many others observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Meanwhile, Highway One through Big Sur is fully open for the first time in more than three years, but experts fear climate change could threaten more closures. And, Noma's superstar chef René Redzepi is bringing his food to LA—a tasting menu in Silver Lake that'll go on from March 11th until June 26th—at the cool price of $1,500 for a reservation. In business, Chinese boba giant Mixue opened its first U.S. location in Hollywood. Soon after the opening, it launched more locations in various New York neighborhoods. Read more at LATimes.com.
Hundreds of businesses across Minnesota are expected to close on Friday as part of a general strike against the tactics and actions of ICE. New York Times columnist Lydia Polgreen described what she saw in Minneapolis as a "civil war." And after decades of debate, Metro's board unanimously approved plans for a multibillion-dollar underground rail line through the Sepulveda Pass in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, more than 175 million Americans are facing winter weather warnings with a massive storm barreling across the country. And before Ernest Hemingway was discharged in 1961 from St. Marys Hospital in Minnesota, he gave Sister Immaculata his novella "The Old Man and the Sea," inscribing a personal note in it; that book is now in the hands of the Nobel Prize Museum in Sweden for the world to see. In business, an L.A. startup is using SpaceX rocket-engine technology to cool data centers, and the historic Radford Studio Center defaults on its mortgage due to Hollywood's production slowdown. Read more at LATimes.com.
President Trump signs his Board of Peace charter at Davos on Thursday. Also, two updates about ongoing ICE operations. First, ICE is targeting immigrants in what DHS officials are calling "Operation Catch of the Day" in Maine, though state officials there are pushing back on this plan. Meanwhile, California senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff toured, for a second time, California's most recent ICE facility on the books. The detention center is a former prison, and immigrants in a federal class action lawsuit accused DHS of sewage water in showers and foul drinking water. In business, Kim Kardashian's brand Skims pays $200,000 dollars to settle fraud allegations in New Jersey, and Speedo moves its headquarters from Orange County to Long Beach ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Read more at LATimes.com
President Trump spoke at Davos on Wednesday morning, reaffirming his desire to take over Greenland, which has been an autonomous territory of Denmark for more than 300 years; world leaders, though, are pushing back on Trump's plan. Meanwhile, one of the biggest stories in Hollywood just took another turn. Netflix is amending its $72 billion bid of Warner Brothers Discovery to pay the full amount in cash rather than a mix of cash and stock. And for months, people living in Hancock Park in the Wilshire area of Los Angeles say their neighborhood has been left in the dark after copper thieves stripped wiring from streetlights, leaving them in the dark. Why are people stealing copper? Well, the metal is a hot commodity. In business, a shop on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles is selling thrifted clothes and beauty items from influencers to combat fast fashion, and California Governor Gavin Newsom announces that the state reached its clean air vehicle goals last year, which were set in 2010 by then Governor Jerry Brown. Read more at LATimes.com.
During the first year of his second term, President Trump took unprecedented actions. Meanwhile in Greenland, protests erupted over the weekend as Trump doubled down on his threats to take over the autonomous territory from Denmark. The President says the acquisition is necessary for security reasons, though others have denied that Greenland is under threat from China or Russia. And in California, San Diego’s development boom is shining a spotlight on Los Angeles’s own housing crisis; San Diego is building apartments at nearly twice the rate of LA, where new construction plummeted 33% over the past three years. Read more at LATimes.com.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism charges in a New York courtroom Monday, marking his first appearance since U.S. forces seized him and his wife from their bedroom in Caracas late Friday night. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that he is issuing a letter of censure to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly for participating in a video urging U.S. soldiers to uphold the Constitution. And in other Washington news, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Monday he will not run for a third term. In California, record-setting rain continues, though sunny skies are expected by the weekend. In business, California is weighing a one-time 5% tax on billionaires and their trusts, and Tesla has been overtaken as the world’s top electric vehicle seller by China’s BYD. Read more at LATimes.com.
The United States military presence is growing in the Caribbean, with the Southern Command estimating about 15,000 personnel in the region, as tensions continue to build with Venezuela. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., fallout continues after President Trump added his name to the Kennedy Center — jazz supergroup The Cookers are pulling out of their New Year's Eve show there. Also, the National Guard is no longer in Los Angeles, but they’re patrolling New Orleans — exactly one year after a New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street that took the lives of 14 people. In California, the New Year is bringing a new round of rain to the southern part of the state, but even bad weather can't stop the 137th Rose Parade from marching through downtown Pasadena. And as people around the world ring in 2026, there will be partying, but also introspection and reflection; at a New Year's event in Sydney, Australia, a moment of silence – representing a nation's path towards healing — took place to remember the victims of a recent anitsemitic terrorist attack. Read more at LATimes.com.
President Trump said Monday that the U.S. “hit” an alleged drug facility along a shoreline as he escalates pressure on Venezuela. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security launched a fraud investigation in Minneapolis, targeting suspects accused of stealing billions in government funds. In California, the DMV rolled out a new pilot program aimed at cracking down on reckless driving, with added penalties for motorists clocked at more than 100 miles per hour. The state also became the first in the nation to require folic acid in most tortilla and corn masa products, a move aimed at reducing birth defects. And in sports, the Rams fell 27–24 to the Falcons on Monday night, sliding to the No. 6 seed in the NFC heading into the playoffs. Read more at LATimes.com.
President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. The talks focused on securing a U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Over the weekend, Trump also worked to advance a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, speaking by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday before welcoming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to his Palm Beach, Florida, club later that day. Meanwhile, Paramount’s hostile bid to buy Warner Bros. continues. Last week, the deal gained backing from Larry Ellison, father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, who said he would guarantee more than $40 billion in equity. In California, the state has lost more than a quarter of its immigration judges this year. Some retired, while others were terminated without advance notice, adding pressure to an already overburdened court system. And Southern California is facing another week of extreme weather. After days of storms, forecasters are warning of high winds up to 65 miles per hour through Tuesday. Read more at LATimes.com.
The suspect in the recent Brown and MIT shootings was found dead on Thursday night. Meanwhile, for millions of Americans who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, the clock is ticking; open enrollment for 2026 coverage is still open, but many shoppers are feeling sticker shock. Also, the Kennedy Center board votes to include President Trump’s name in the organization’s title. And, Ford's exhibit, "American Icon: A Mustang Immersive Experience," is now in L.A. Could it boost sales among Gen Z consumers? In business, the Port of Los Angeles is closing a busy 2025, but officials expect trade to fall off next year, and Elon Musk's SpaceX eyes a possible record initial public offering.
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