In Hollywood, Image Is Everything. And David Ellison Has an Image Problem
David Ellison, son of Oracle co‑founder Larry Ellison, is pushing a merger that would combine Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery, giving him control of CNN, CBS News and a stake in TikTok. The deal, slated for approval by September, faces fierce opposition from more than 5,000 Hollywood artists who warn it would concentrate media power and deepen political bias. Ellison’s close ties to the Trump administration have amplified concerns, while the transaction would saddle the new entity with roughly $79 billion in debt and $6 billion in planned cuts. If cleared, the combined company would become one of the world’s largest media conglomerates, reshaping the competitive landscape for streaming and traditional broadcasting.
Humans Are Killing California Joshua Trees. Can Fungi Save Them?
A National Park Service effort to replant 193 Joshua tree seedlings in Mojave National Preserve has yielded only a 14% survival rate, prompting scientists to investigate the cause. Led by Anne Polyakov, researchers are sampling soils for mycorrhizal fungi that...
L.A.'s Surging Real Estate Prices Have Cooled, so Why Is Nobody Buying Condos?
Los Angeles condo sales plunged to a 20‑year low, with fewer than 2,000 units sold in January‑February 2026. Median condo prices slipped 4.5% year‑over‑year to roughly $665,000, while single‑family homes fell only 1.6%. The slowdown reflects stubbornly high mortgage rates,...
Ex-Dodger Scott Erickson Says He 'Wasn't Racing' His Ex-Lover in His SUV when She Killed Two Boys
Former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson took the stand in a wrongful‑death lawsuit filed by the parents of two boys killed in a 2020 Westlake Village crash. He asserted he was not racing his ex‑lover Rebecca Grossman's Mercedes SUV, though he...
Taiwan Fears Trump Will Speak Off-Script on Its Fate in Beijing
Taiwan’s leaders warn that President Trump may stray from the long‑standing U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity during his imminent state visit to China. While senior officials privately assure Taipei that the One China stance remains unchanged, the island remains anxious...
The Wilshire Subway Should Be a Slam Dunk for L.A. But Luring Riders May Be a Challenge
Los Angeles Metro opened three new D Line stations on Wilshire Boulevard, extending service to Beverly Hills and setting the stage for a further push toward Westwood. The line promises a 21‑minute ride from Union Station to the furthest new...
Ships at L.A.'s Ports Face a Fuel Shock That's Shaking the Economy
Shipping fuel costs at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports have surged, with very low‑sulfur bunker prices jumping nearly 88% to $1,080 per metric ton since the Iran‑related conflict began. The spike has pushed fuel to about 25% of a...
Mail-a-Handgun: Trump Administration Pushes to Allow Firearms to Be Delivered by USPS
The Department of Justice has ruled the 99‑year ban on mailing concealable handguns unconstitutional, prompting the Trump administration to push the United States Postal Service to reclassify handguns as mailable firearms. The proposed rule would require guns to be shipped...
How Many Cybertrucks Has Tesla Sold to the Public? Fewer than You Might Think
Tesla’s Cybertruck sales have sharply declined, with only 20,237 units sold in 2025—a 48.1% drop from the previous year and a 45% fall in Q1 2025. In the fourth quarter, 1,279 of the 7,071 U.S. registrations were transferred to SpaceX,...
A Remote Northern California Waterfall Has Gotten so Popular that Reservations Are Required
Burney Falls in Shasta County, California, will require advance reservations for most weekend and holiday visits from May 15 through Sept 27. The pilot aims to curb the surge of visitors—peaking at 322,192 in 2020 and stabilizing around 220,000 annually—that has damaged...
L.A. Neighborhoods See Influx of 500 Delivery Bots
Serve Robotics has rolled out more than 500 autonomous delivery bots across 40 Los Angeles neighborhoods, expanding its footprint from just two neighborhoods in 2023. The fleet uses the company’s Gen‑3 robots equipped with Nvidia processors that deliver five‑times the computing...
Should a California Union Dictate How Clinics Spend Money? Employers Sue to Block Ballot Measure
The Service Employees International Union‑United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU‑UHW) has qualified the Clinic Funding Accountability and Transparency Act for the November ballot after gathering more than one million signatures. The initiative would require federally qualified health centers to spend at...
Inside Israel's AI Targeting System: How Data From a Phone Become a Death Sentence
Israel’s military has deployed an AI‑driven kill‑chain that fuses smartphone metadata, drone imagery, traffic cameras, Wi‑Fi signals and social‑media footprints to pinpoint Hezbollah operatives. The system, built on platforms such as Palantir’s Maven, can generate a threat profile in seconds...
California Braces for Uncertainty as Last Shipment of Persian Gulf Oil Arrives in Long Beach
The last California‑bound tanker from the Persian Gulf, the New Corolla, has off‑loaded 2 million barrels of crude at the Port of Long Beach, marking the end of Gulf shipments amid the Iran‑triggered Strait of Hormuz closure. California now faces a daily shortfall...
Waymos, Robotaxis Can Now Be Ticketed by California Police. But How Exactly?
California’s Assembly Bill 1777 takes effect on July 1, giving police the authority to issue a “notice of AV non‑compliance” and hold autonomous‑vehicle manufacturers liable for traffic violations. Waymo and other robotaxi operators must file a First Responder Interaction Plan, maintain 30‑second...