Watch: Charles Mwesigwa – known locally as Abbey – says his women are “open-minded”
Warning: Contains disturbing content and graphic descriptions of sexual acts
A man running a sex ring operating out of Dubai’s most glamorous neighbourhoods, and exploiting vulnerable women, has been identified by a BBC investigation.
Charles Mwesigwa, who says he is a former London bus driver, told our undercover reporter he could provide women for a sex party at a starting price of $1,000 (£740), adding that many can do “pretty much everything” clients want them to.
Rumours of wild sex parties in the UAE emirate have circulated for years. The hashtag #Dubaiportapotty, which has been viewed more than 450 million times on TikTok, links to parodies and speculative exposés of women accused of being money-hungry influencers secretly funding their lifestyles by fulfilling the most excessive of sexual requests.
Our BBC World Service investigation was told the reality is even darker.
Young Ugandan women told us they had not expected to have to undertake sex work for Mr Mwesigwa. In some cases, they believed they were travelling to the UAE to work in places like supermarkets or hotels.
At least one of Mr Mwesigwa’s clients regularly asks to defecate on the women, according to “Mia”, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, and who says she was trapped by Mr Mwesigwa’s network.
Mr Mwesigwa denies the allegations. He says he helps women find accommodation through landlords, and that women follow him to parties because of his wealthy Dubai contacts.
We have also discovered that two women linked to Mr Mwesigwa have died, having fallen from high-rise apartments. Although their deaths were ruled as suicides, their friends and family feel the police should have investigated further.
Mr Mwesigwa said the incidents were investigated by the Dubai police and asked us to contact them for information. They did not reply to our request.
One of the women who lost her life, Monic Karungi, arrived in Dubai from western Uganda.
She found herself sharing a flat with dozens of other women working for Mr Mwesigwa, according to one of the women, who we are calling Keira, who says she lived with Monic there in 2022.
“[His] place was like a market… There were like 50 girls. She was not happy because what she expected is not what she got,” Keira told us.
Monic thought the job in Dubai was going to be in a supermarket, according to her sister Rita.
“He [Mr Mwesigwa] was violent when I told him I wanted to go back home,” says Mia, who also knew Monic in Dubai. She says that, when she first arrived, he told her she already owed him £2,000 ($2,711) and that within two weeks that debt had doubled.
“Money for air tickets, for your visa, for where you’re sleeping, food,” says Mia.
“That means you have to work hard, hard, hard, pleading for men to come and sleep [with] you.”
Monic owed Mr Mwesigwa more than $27,000 (£19,918) after several weeks, according to what a relative of hers we are calling Michael says she told him. He adds that he received tearful voice notes from her.
Family handout
Monic grew up with 10 siblings in rural Uganda
Mia told us that clients were mostly white Europeans, and included men with extreme fetishes.
“There’s this one client, he poops on girls. He poops and he tells them to eat the shit,” she explained quietly.
Another woman we are calling Lexi, who says she was tricked by a different network, echoed Mia’s story, saying “porta potty” requests were frequent.
“There was a client who said: ‘We pay you 15,000 Arab Emirates Dirham ($4,084, £3,013) to gang-rape you, pee in your face, beat you, and add in 5,000 ($1,361, £1,004)'” for being recorded eating faeces.
Her experiences have led her to believe there is a racial element to this extreme fetish.
“Every time I said that I wouldn’t want to do that, it seemed to get them more interested. They want somebody who is going to cry and scream and run. And that somebody [in their eyes] should be a black person.”
Lexi says she tried to get help from the only people she thought could intervene – the police. But she says they told her: “You Africans cause problems for each other. We don’t want to get involved. And they would hang up.”
We put this allegation to the Dubai police and they did not reply.
Lexi eventually escaped back to Uganda and now helps to rescue and support women in similar situations.
Warsan Tower in Dubai, from which Monic Karungi fell in May 2022
Finding Charles Mwesigwa wasn’t easy. We could only find one picture of him online – and it was taken from behind. He also uses multiple names across social media.
But through a combination of open-source intelligence, undercover research, and information from a former member of his network, we traced him to a middle class neighbourhood in Dubai – Jumeirah Village Circle.
To corroborate what sources had told us about his business – supplying women for degrading sex acts – we sent in an undercover reporter posing as an event organiser sourcing women for high-end parties.
Mr Mwesigwa appeared calm and confident when speaking about his business.
Mr Mwesigwa showed us his UK driving licence and said he was a former London bus driver
“We’ve got like 25 girls,” he said. “Many are open-minded… they can do pretty much everything.”
He explained the cost – from $1,000 (£738) per girl per night, but more for “crazy stuff”. He invited our reporter for a “sample night”.
When asked about “Dubai porta potty” he replied: “I’ve told you, they are open-minded. When I say open-minded… I will send you the craziest I have.”
In the course of the conversation, Mr Mwesigwa said he used to be a London bus driver. We have seen evidence he put that occupation down on an official document in east London in 2006.
He went on to tell our reporter that he loved this business.
“I could win the lottery, a million pounds, but I would still do it… it’s become part of me.”
Troy, a man who says he used to act as operations manager for Mr Mwesigwa’s network, gave us more information about how he says it is run.
Troy says he used to work as a driver and then an operations manager for Charles Mwesigwa
He says Mr Mwesigwa pays off security at various nightclubs so they will let his women in to find clients.
“I’ve heard about types of sex that I’ve never seen in my life. It doesn’t matter what you go through as long as his rich men are happy… [the women] have no escape route…They see musicians, they see footballers, they see presidents.”
Mr Mwesigwa has been able to get away with running this operation, Troy claims, because Troy and others are not just used as drivers. He says their names are also used by Mr Mwesigwa to hire cars and apartments, so that his own name never appears on the paperwork.
On 27 April 2022, Monic posted a selfie from Al Barsha – a residential neighbourhood popular with expats in Dubai. Four days later, she was dead. She had been in the emirate for just four months.
According to Mia, Monic and Mr Mwesigwa had been regularly arguing in the period before she left. Mia says Monic had been refusing to comply with Mr Mwesigwa’s demands and had found a way out of his network.
“She had got some kind of job. She was very excited. She thought she was gonna get free, she was going to get her life back because now that was a real job, no sleeping with men,” Mia says.
Monic moved out to a different apartment about 10 minutes’ walk away. It was from this apartment’s balcony that she fell on 1 May 2022.
Instagram
The final selfie Monic posted before she died
Monic’s relative Michael, who was in the UAE at the time she died, says he tried to get answers.
Police told him they stopped their investigation, having found drugs and alcohol in the apartment Monic had fallen from, and only her fingerprints on the balcony, he says.
He obtained a death certificate for Monic from a hospital, but it did not say how she had died. And her family were unable to obtain a toxicology report for her.
But a Ghanaian man living in the apartment building was more helpful, he says, taking him to another block to meet the man he said was Monic’s boss.
Michael describes the scene when he got there and saw where the women were housed.
He says through the cloud of shisha smoke in the living room, he made out what looked like cocaine on the table and women having sex on chairs with clients.
He claims he found the man we had previously identified as Charles Mwesigwa in bed with two women, and that when he tried to drag him to the police Mr Mwesigwa replied: “I have spent 25 years in Dubai. Dubai is mine… There is no way you are going to report me… Embassy is me, I’m the embassy.
“[Monic’s] not the first to die. And she won’t be the last,” he added, according to Michael.
Mia and Keira both independently say they witnessed this conversation and both confirm its wording. When we asked Mr Mwesigwa what he meant by this, he denied having said it.
Monic’s death shares haunting similarities with that of Kayla Birungi, another Ugandan woman who lived in the same neighbourhood as her, and died in 2021 after falling from a Dubai high-rise apartment which we have evidence to suggest was managed by Charles Mwesigwa.
The phone number for her landlord, shared with us by Kayla’s family, turned out to be one of Mr Mwesigwa’s numbers. Troy also confirms that Mr Mwesigwa managed the apartment, as do four other women we spoke to for this investigation.
Instagram
Kayla Birungi, another Ugandan, also died after falling from a Dubai high-rise building
Kayla’s relatives say that they – like Monic’s family – heard Kayla’s death had been linked to alcohol and drugs. But a toxicology report seen by the BBC shows none were present in her system at the time of her death.
While Kayla’s family was able to repatriate her body and hold a burial, Monic’s remains were never returned.
Our investigation found she was likely buried in a section of Dubai’s Al Qusais Cemetery known as “The Unknown”. It features rows and rows of unmarked graves, typically thought to belong to migrants whose family couldn’t repatriate their bodies.
Monic and Kayla were part of a wider, unofficial pipeline connecting Uganda to the Gulf.
As Uganda wrestles with rising youth unemployment, moving to work abroad – mainly in the Gulf states – has become a huge industry that contributes $1.2bn (£885m) of tax revenue to the country each year.
But these opportunities can carry a risk.
Mariam Mwiza, a Ugandan activist against exploitation, says she has helped rescue more than 700 people from around the Gulf.
“We get cases of people who have been promised to work, let’s say, in a supermarket. Then [that person] ends up sold as a prostitute,” she told us.
Monic’s family in rural Uganda say Monic always had the ambition to seek a better life
For Monic’s family, grief is now tangled with fear. Fear for other families who could suffer the same loss they have, if nothing is done.
“We are all looking at Monica’s death,” her relative Michael told us. “But who is there for the girls still alive? They’re still there. Still suffering.”
The BBC asked Charles “Abbey” Mwesigwa to respond to all the allegations made in our investigation. He denied running an illegal prostitution ring.
He said: “These are all false allegations.
“I told you I am just a party person who invites big spenders on my tables, hence making many girls flock [to] my table. That makes me know many girls and that’s it.”
He also said: “[Monic] died with her passport meaning no-one was demanding her money for taking her. Prior to her death, I hadn’t seen her for over four to five weeks.
“I knew [Monic and Kayla] and [they] were renting with different landlords. If no-one in both flats was arrested or any of the landlords, then there was a reason. Both incidents were investigated by the Dubai police and maybe they can help you.”
The BBC contacted Al Barsha Police Station to request to see the case files for Monic Karungi and Kayla Birungi. It did not respond to that request or to allegations Monica and Kayla’s deaths had not been properly investigated.
The BBC was unable to see any toxicology reports in relation to Monic Karungi, or speak to the landlord of the apartment in which she was living when she died.
If you have any information to add to this investigation please contact [email protected]
Details of organisations offering information about or support after sexual abuse or with feelings of despair are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
When the thought of truly delicious pancakes bubbles up, various trips and experiences flood my mind and activate my hunger receptors.
I’m transported back aboard the Amtrak booze train heading to San Diego for a Chargers game, where I have to make time for Richard Walker’s Pancake House. Their famed, often still sizzling and flaky, gigantic baked apple pancake is the embodiment of flapjack largesse.
There’s the homespun goodness of a sweet cream pancake volcano at the Black Bear Diner, a common haunt when I visit family in the Inland Empire. And can you visit The Grove for breakfast without trying Du-Par’s heavenly and buttery pancakes?
Pancakes own a special place in many of our hearts, partly because they are comforting, filling and customizable.
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We’ll dip into that grouping and pull out some favorites where new memories can be created.
Breakfast by Salt’s Cure (Santa Monica)
The oatmeal griddle cakes from Breakfast by Salt’s Cure.
(Andrea D’Agosto)
I almost hesitate to call these pancakes, and in fact, the official name on the menu is “Oatmeal Griddle Cakes.”
Made from a base of oat flour and cinnamon sugar, these thin-yet-hearty griddle cakes taste like a deeply gooey, slightly underbaked oatmeal cookie. There is absolutely no maple syrup or syrup of any kind available, but you won’t need any if you are careful to get the scoops of cinnamon molasses butter into every nook and cranny.
Café Telegrama (Hollywood)
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
What sets the pancakes at Café Telegrama apart from the rest of the pancakes in Los Angeles are their iconic crispy edges.
Perfectly caramelized, they are the result of cooking the pancakes for at least seven minutes in a generous pool of nutty brown butter. The edges are in sharp contrast to the rest of the pancake, which is quite tender thanks to the ricotta in the batter.
They arrive stacked two to a plate, swimming in maple syrup, and topped with a generous amount of house-made blueberry compote.
The Griddle Cafe (Hollywood Hills West)
Bigger isn’t always better, but it’s impossible not to be delighted by the truly massive, dinner plate-sized pancakes that show up either two or three to a stack at this legendary Sunset Boulevard breakfast spot.
While the classic buttermilk pancakes are solid, this is not the place to hold back — you might as well really go for it with one of the diner’s over-the-top novelty options.
The best?
Either the Golden Ticket, pancakes stuffed with brown sugar-baked bananas, caramel, walnuts and streusel; or the Black Magic, a stack of pancakes brimming with crispy yet soft crushed Oreo cookies and a mountain of whipped cream. Just be ready to nap afterward.
Yang’s Kitchen (Alhambra)
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
It’s worth braving the weekend brunch lines at this beloved Alhambra institution for the giant cornmeal pancakes.
The team at Yang’s whips together cornmeal from Grist & Toll with mochiko rice flour from Koda Farms to create a pancake that is gently chewy with deep savory notes from the cornmeal.
There is no maple syrup: Instead, they come topped with fresh whipped cream, seasonal fruit and condensed milk for drizzling. They might not be traditional by any means, but it’s always worth ordering a stack for the table.
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)
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Jim Rainey, staff writer Andrew J. Campa, reporter Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Karim Doumar, head of newsletters Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern
SACRAMENTO — A popular perk for California drivers of electric and low-emission cars is coming to an end.
Beginning Oct. 1, motorists with a Clean Air Vehicle decal will no longer be able to drive solo in carpool lanes because the program was not extended by the federal government, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
The carpool benefit was promoted as a cost-effective incentive to encourage Californians to buy clean and zero-emission vehicles. More than a million motorists have applied for the decal since it became available more than two decades ago. There are roughly a half million vehicles in California with active decals, allowing them to use the carpool lane alone. Last month, the DMV stopped issuing new decals and warned that the program could be ending.
Extending the program would have required approval from Congress and President Trump.
“A Trump traffic jam is on its way to California and other states – all because Republicans in Congress decided to let a wildly successful bipartisan program expire,” Newsom said in a statement. “That’s Trump’s America: more traffic, more smog and a government more committed to slashing proven programs than solving real problems.”
California is one of 13 states offering the benefit. Vehicles that qualified included fuel cell electric, natural gas or plug-in electric cars.
Last year, Newsom signed a bill that extended California’s decal program until 2027, but the state will no longer be able to continue it without federal authority, the governor’s office said. According to the California Energy Commission, 25% of new cars sold in the state are zero-emission vehicles.
Drivers in electric and low-emission cars will only be able to use carpool lanes after the program expires if they meet the multiple occupant requirements. The reduced toll rates available in some areas to drivers with a decal will also end on Oct. 1.
California law indicates that drivers will not be cited for driving in the carpool lane with an invalid decal within 60 days of the program ending.
“Californians are committed to lowering their carbon footprint and these decals helped drivers be good stewards of our highways and environment,” said Steve Gordon, director of the California DMV, in a statement. “By taking away this program, hundreds of thousands of California’s drivers will pay the price. It’s a lose-lose and we urge the federal government to retain this program.”
A CYCLIST has tragically died after being mowed down by a car as cops arrest the driver.
The man was struck down on the Shepherds Hill Roundabout in Woodley, Berkshire, at about 4.45pm on August 29.
Cops confirmed the cyclist tragically died in hospital on Tuesday.
A 24-year-old man from Slough was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless driving.
He has since been released on jail.
Investigating officer Police Sergeant Matthew Cadmore, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Firstly, I would like to share my sincere condolences to the family of the man who has sadly died in hospital as a result of his injuries.
“I am re-appealing to anyone who witnessed this collision to please get in touch.
“I am also appealing to anyone who was driving in the area in the moments leading up to the collision to please check their dash-cam for any footage.
“Footage can be uploaded to our dedicated online portal and anyone with information can call 101 or make an online report via our website, quoting reference number 43250442717.
“If you don’t want to speak directly with police, you can also call the independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
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A cyclist has tragically died after being mowed down by a car as cops arrest the driver
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
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The security of former Vice President Kamala Harris, once the duty of the U.S. Secret Service, has been thrown into flux, again, days after President Trump canceled her federal protection.
My colleague Richard Winton broke the news Saturday morning that the Los Angeles Police Department, which was assisting the California Highway Patrol in providing security for Harris, has been pulled off the detail after internal criticism of the arrangement.
Let’s jump into what Winton wrote about this quickly-evolving story.
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What happened to Harris’ Secret Service protection?
Former vice presidents usually get Secret Service protection for six months after leaving office, while former presidents are given protection for life.
But before his term ended in January, President Joe Biden signed an order to extend Harris’ protection to July 2026.
Aides to Harris had asked Biden for the extension. Without it, her security detail would have ended last month, according to sources.
Trump ended that arrangement as of Monday.
How did the CHP and LAPD get involved?
Winton wrote Aug. 29 that California officials planned to utilize the CHP as her security detail. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was required to sign off on such CHP protection, would not confirm the arrangement. “Our office does not comment on security arrangements,” said Izzy Gordon, a spokesperson for Newsom. “The safety of our public officials should never be subject to erratic, vindictive political impulses.”
Fox 11 broke the story of the use of LAPD officers earlier this week and got footage of the security detail outside Harris’ Brentwood home from one of its news helicopters.
The effort was described as “temporary” by Jennifer Forkish, L.A. police communications director.
Roughly a dozen or more officers have begun working to protect Harris.
Sources not authorized to discuss the details of the plan said the city would fund the security while Harris was hiring her own security in the near future.
Controversy ensued
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, lambasted the move.
The union did not address Harris as a former vice president, nor as California senator or state attorney general, in its official rebuke.
“Pulling police officers from protecting everyday Angelenos to protect a failed presidential candidate who also happens to be a multi-millionaire, with multiple homes and who can easily afford to pay for her own security, is nuts,” its board of directors said.
The statement continued: Mayor Karen Bass “should tell Governor Newsom that if he wants to curry favor with Ms. Harris and her donor base, then he should open up his own wallet because LA taxpayers should not be footing the bill for this ridiculousness.”
What’s next?
The CHP has not indicated how the LAPD’s move would alter its arrangement with the former vice president or said how long it will continue.
The curtailing of Secret Service protection comes as Harris is going to begin a book tour next month for her memoir, “107 Days.” The tour has 15 stops, which include visits to London and Toronto. The book title references the short length of her presidential campaign.
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Hannah Pilkes)
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In a couple of months, California voters will have the opportunity to reshape our state’s political map and, perhaps, tilt the balance of power nationally from red to blue.
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Methodology behind the analysis
To get a sense of how the proposed maps might alter the balance of power in Congress, The Times used results from the 2024 presidential election to calculate the margin of victory between Democrats and Republicans in the redrawn districts.
In some cases, districts were split apart and stitched together with more liberal areas. In one area, lines have been redrawn with no overlap at all with their current boundary.
As a result, four formerly Republican-leaning swing districts would tilt slightly Democratic, and two others would shift more heavily toward the left. Four out of the five remaining Republican strongholds would become even darker red under the proposed map.
All told, the new maps could help Democrats earn six seats.
We’ll examine two Southern California districts from their list.
41st District: Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona)
Rep. Ken Calvert’s 41st District, long centered in the competitive western Inland Empire, would be eliminated and completely redrawn in Los Angeles County. The district would transform from a swinging GOP-leaning seat into one where Democrats would hold a 14-point advantage.
Parts of the new 41st would be carved out of the current 38th District, represented by Democrat Linda Sánchez. That change shifts some of Sánchez’s Democratic base into the new 41st district, making it more favorable to Democrats while leaving the 38th slightly less blue.
At the same time, the Latino share of the population would rise, further bolstering the Democrat‘s strength in the proposed district. The new 41st seat would become a majority-minority district. The redistricting proposal includes 16 majority-minority districts; the same number as the current map.
A section of the current 41st district would be added to Anaheim Hills’ Republican Young Kim’s 40th District. The reshaped 40th District would move 9.7 points to the right — the biggest rightward shift among Republican-held districts.
48th District: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall)
In 2024, voters in the 48th District reelected Republican representative Darrel Issa by 19 points, while his district swung to Trump by 15 points.
But the proposed lines would shift Republican voters into a neighboring district in favor of bluer voters from the Coachella Valley, giving Democrats a new edge.
The district’s demographics would also change, with a larger share of Latino voters. As a result, a safe Republican seat would become a swing district, where Democrats would hold a narrow 3-point advantage.
The proposed 48th District includes Palm Springs, a liberal patch that was previously in the 41st District.
What the changes could mean
The analysis found the redistricting effort, which will go to voters on Nov. 4, could turn 41 Democratic-leaning congressional districts into 47.
Democrats currently hold 215 seats in the House, and Republicans have 220. The shift could be enough to threaten the GOP’s narrow majority.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff writer Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Andrew J. Campa, reporter Karim Doumar, head of newsletters Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern
A TWO-year-old boy was killed as his parents walked him back from the beach, an inquest heard.
Sonny Macdonald was in his pushchair, just minutes away from home, when a car crashed into the family at around 8.15pm on August 16.
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Little Sonny Macdonald was tragically killed after a car struck him in his pushchairCredit: UKNIP
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The tot’s parents were also seriously injured in the horrorCredit: UKNIP
Tragedy struck as the vehicle lost control and smashed through a metal barrier in Gorrell Tank car park, Whitstable, Kent.
Sonny was pronounced dead at the scene, while his parents were rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
An inquest into the two-year-old’s death was opened at Oakwood House in Maidstone on Friday.
Coroner Katrina Hepburn said: “His mother and father witnessed his death, which occurred at approximately 8.24pm.
“[They] were walking back from Whitstable beach from the harbour with Sonny, who was in a pushchair.”
She said the car turned into Cromwell Road, “lost control” and “drove into the family”, as reported by Kent Online.
“The vehicle continued through a metal barrier down onto a car park below, around a six-foot drop, taking Sonny with it,” the coroner added.
Due to an ongoing police investigation, the inquest was adjourned.
Kent Police arrested a man in his 20s at the scene of the horror, on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
He has been bailed while investigations are ongoing.
Floral tributes and cuddly toys were left at the scene in wake of the tragedy.
Canterbury and Whitstable MP Rosie Duffield said at the time: “I was shocked and very saddened to hear about the horrific incident in Whitstable, and I cannot begin to imagine what the family of the little boy who lost his life must be going through.
“My thoughts are with them and all caught up in this awful tragedy.
”Thank you to our excellent emergency services and all who were there to help, I hope the Police are able to carry out their investigations swiftly and provide some answers about what happened.
“I would urge anyone who may have been nearby to contact Kent Police in case you may have picked up important evidence on your dashcam, or witnessed something that may turn out to be significant.”
Witnesses who have not yet spoken to police, should call 01622 798538 or email [email protected], quoting reference BN/AL/058/25.
Relevant CCTV and dashcam footage can be uploaded via the online portal.
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Kent Police arrested a man in his 20s at the sceneCredit: UKNIP
All the articles are worth a view. Here’s a small sample of what our writers covered.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Cupid’s Hot Dogs (from the 65 favorite places to eat)
Colleague Stephanie Breijo wondered why Cupid’s is so quintessentially San Fernando Valley.
Maybe it’s the large “The VALLEY” mural in the Winnetka location’s parking lot — where carhop service and car shows can occasionally be found — or perhaps it’s that iconic heart-shaped signage that has stood over low-slung buildings and strip malls for nearly 80 years.
It’s probably the fact that the Walsh family has been slinging hot dogs across the Valley since 1946, with sisters Morgan and Kelly Walsh serving as third-generation stewards.
Whatever the case, their thin dogs still snap with each bite. The signature Cupid dog — a creation of their father’s in the 1980s — is punchy with mustard and onions, and the chili is so thick it’s practically a paste.
The flavors and generational influence collide here, a sort of trip through decades of family and Valley history in a single hot dog stand.
Canto VI (from the 24 best bars and coffee shops)
Restaurant critic Bill Addison wrote that Canto VI owner Brian Kalliel brought a high level of experience into his Chatsworth venture.
Kalliel previously worked as a sommelier at Augustine Wine Bar and Mélisse.
He sets his caliber for wines high, and delivers with an ever-changing selection through which he guides customers from behind the bar, engaging them in conversations on their tastes.
Wine flights, by-the-glass options, a few rarer bottles with some age for the nerds: Kalliel has his audience covered. The dining room — serving wine-friendly snacks, including nicely composed cheese and salumi boards, and Italian-leaning entrees from Chester Hastings, formerly chef at Joan’s on Third — has distinct supper club vibes.
Couples gravitate to the bar. Larger groups land at dimly lit tables. Ordering happens at the counter, which can be disorienting if the staff doesn’t make the process clear to first-timers. With a full house the place feels informal and occasionally a little chaotic and decidedly grown-up, largely due to Kalliel’s confident, hospitable ringleader presence.
(Brandon Ly / Los Angeles Times)
Where Kelly Kapowski grabs a burger
Senior Food Editor Danielle Dorsey tracked down celebrities, media members and politicians to ask about their hidden Valley gems.
Tiffani Thiessen, of “Saved by the Bell” and voice of She-Hulk in the “Lego Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition,” gave us three.
“Bill’s Burgers [is] our [favorite] burger in the Valley,” Thiessen said. “Super casual setting for a quick bite with the best legendary old school burger.
“Oy Bar [is] one of our favorite date night spots [and the] food is always on point. Casa Vega [is a] nostalgic Mexican joint that has been a staple in the Valley for many years and [I] hope it continues.”
Hopefully readers will find their own San Fernando Valley staple. For more, check out the entire Guide to the 818.
The week’s biggest stories
(Joe Burbank / Associated Press)
Trump administration policies and push back
Labor Day travel and plans
Crime, courts and policing
Community struggles and issues
More big stories
This week’s must-reads
More great reads
For your weekend
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by HBO / David John Photography)
Going out
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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff writer Andrew J. Campa, reporter Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Karim Doumar, head of newsletters Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern
For college football fans, the tranquility and/or boredom of game-free weekends has officially ended.
Yes, the college football season is back today along with all of the game-day traditions: tailgating, plopping on the couch with a 60-inch screen, backyard barbecues and incessant complaining about traffic from residents near the Rose Bowl.
Hope is high for the USC and UCLA football programs, members of the Big 10 Conference (it still feels weird saying that!).
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Our L.A. Times sports team put together an amazing digital preview package for the upcoming season. The Trojans start first, hosting Missouri State at the Memorial Coliseum at 4:30 p.m. today while the Bruins welcome Utah to the Rose Bowl at 8 p.m.
Let’s sample some of that coverage and wish both teams the best of luck. And as an Alabama alumnus myself, may I add a very loud Roll Tide!
Expect a roller-coaster season from USC quarterback Jayden Maiava
My colleague and Trojans beat writer Ryan Kartje said the redshirt junior made a concerted effort over the summer to eliminate the back-breaking mistakes he struggled with last season.
Since last season, he dug deeper into head coach Lincoln Riley’s offense and worked on his mechanics with the experts at the 3DQB training academy in Huntington Beach.
But Maiava’s style has lent itself to high variance.
He loves to chuck it deep and too often throws it into coverage. That could yield some thrilling results. We’ll have to see if that will benefit USC or not.
But 4.3% of his passes last season were deemed turnover-worthy by Pro Football Focus. That was third-highest in the Big Ten and too high for USC’s offense to reach its potential.
UCLA’s defense will need big seasons from safety Key Lawrence and edge rusher Devin Aupiu.
My colleague and UCLA beat writer Ben Bolch said UCLA will look for leadership on defense.
Perhaps the most energetic player on the team, Lawrence, a Mississippi transfer, also boasts plenty of talent, speed and smarts.
Barring a setback from a minor right leg injury he sustained midway through training camp, Lawrence projects to be an opening-day starter.
He’ll need to anchor a secondary that’s replacing every starter.
As for Aupiu, UCLA’s pass rush was meh last season, generating 22 sacks to rank tied for No. 78 in the nation.
As a part-time starter, Aupiu made 4½ tackles for losses, including 1½ sacks — decent production given his limited playing time and easily the most among returning players. Getting into the backfield more often this season is a must for the redshirt senior.
Prediction time: The Bruins will be bowl-bound while the Trojans will split with their rivals.
Bolch is predicting a season full of surprises and a bowl berth for the Bruins. Does he think they’ll beat USC? You’ll have to read his preview.
Kartje is predicting a fast start for the Trojans, who will run into some bumps and bruises in the Big 10 before rallying with a flourish. Will USC topple UCLA and Notre Dame?
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff writer Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Andrew J. Campa, reporter Karim Doumar, head of newsletters Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern
If you browse through social media, it’s easy to find commentary about canceling the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
There are Angelenos who lack confidence in the city and county’s ability to roll out the red carpet due to perceived failures during the Palisades and Altadena fires.
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One syndicated columnist pleaded with L.A. not to work with “a lawless U.S. regime,” while sportswriter and author Jeff Pearlman wondered if Latin American athletes would feel safe in the U.S. due to the Trump administration’s current deportations.
There are pushes from some, but how possible is it that the Games will be canceled?
Why is backing out difficult? We’re three years away
Host cities and host country national organizing committees (in this country, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee) sign a host city contract (HCC) after the International Olympic Committee officially awards the Games.
The contract for the 2028 Games, signed by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti and then-City Council President Herb Wesson in September 2017, includes procedures for termination from the IOC’s perspective but doesn’t leave the same option for the host city or the national organizing committee.
“While one cannot foreclose all potential theories, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Los Angeles could terminate the HCC without facing substantial legal issues,” Nathan O’Malley, an international arbitration lawyer and a partner at Musick, Peeler & Garrett, wrote in an email. “Especially if the reason for ending the contract was a political disagreement between the federal, state and local branches of government.”
When even COVID-19 didn’t stop the Games
After an initial one-year delay of the Tokyo Games, medical professionals pleaded to cancel amid rising COVID-19 cases.
LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman has emphasized that he has assurances from the federal government that the United States will be open, despite recent travel bans and tighter scrutiny of international travelers arriving in the U.S.
Trump’s June proclamation includes exemptions for athletes, team personnel or immediate relatives entering the country for the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.
If any city should be ready to host the biggest Olympics in history, it should be L.A. Not only because of the existing venues, but because of the unprecedented 11-year planning time after the IOC awarded the Games in 2017.
Now with less than three years remaining, relocating to a city that would likely have to build new venues would be unrealistic for the IOC.
“For Los Angeles, a city whose identity is partly predicated on staging the Olympics twice, and now having a third time,” said Mark Dyreson, a sports historian at Penn State University, “I think it would be really, really difficult for L.A. to give up the Olympics.”
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Jamie-Lee B.)
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L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff writer Andrew J. Campa, reporter Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Karim Doumar, head of newsletters Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A truck driver accused of making an illegal U-turn that killed three people in Florida last week who the Trump administration said was in the U.S. illegally was denied bond Saturday.
The crash sparked a clash between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and California Gov. Gavin Newsom over Harjinder Singh, a native of India who obtained a work permit and driver’s license in the state.
Singh was charged with three state counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations, and he was denied bond on all charges. He is being held in the St. Lucie County Jail, Lt. Andrew Bolonka from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has put a hold on him.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said issuing a commercial license to someone in the country illegally is “asinine.” California is one of 19 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, that issues licenses regardless of immigration status. Supporters say that lets people work, visit doctors and travel safely.
Newsom’s press office responded in a social media post on X that Singh obtained a work permit while Donald Trump was president, which McLaughlin disputed.
Florida authorities said Singh entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2018.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dispatched Lt. Gov. Jay Collins to California to escort Singh onto an airplane Thursday.
Singh made the illegal turn on the highway about 50 miles north of West Palm Beach, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. A minivan in the neighboring lane was unable to avoid the truck’s trailer and slammed into it, killing the minivan’s driver and two passengers.
Singh and a passenger in his truck were not injured.
What Californians think about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to temporarily redraw the state’s congressional districts has been a source of hot debate.
Republicans rallied around polling conducted by Politico last week that noted that California voters preferred an “independent line-drawing panel” determining seats to the House of Representatives versus giving that role to the state Legislature.
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The high-stakes fight over political boundaries could shape control of the U.S. House, where Republicans currently hold a narrow majority.
Texas’ plan creates five new Republican-leaning seats that could secure the GOP’s House majority. Texas is creating the new districts at the behest of President Trump to help Republicans keep control of the House in the midterm elections. California’s efforts are an attempt to temporarily cancel those gains. The new maps would be in place for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 congressional elections.
Newsom and Democratic leaders say California must match Texas’ partisan mapmaking to preserve balance in Congress.
New polling supports Californians fighting back
The UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, conducted for the Los Angeles Times, asked registered voters about the Newsom-backed redistricting push favoring California Democrats. This effort serves as a counterattack to President Trump and Texas Republicans reworking election maps to their advantage.
When voters were asked whether they agree with California’s redistricting maneuver, 46% said it was a good idea, and 36% said it was a bad idea.
Slightly more, 48%, said they would vote in favor of the temporary gerrymandering efforts if it appeared on the statewide special election ballot in November. Nearly a third said they would vote no, and 20% said they were undecided.
One interpretation of the data
“That’s not bad news,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Berkeley IGS Poll. “It could be better.”
DiCamillo added: “With ballot measures, you’d like to be comfortably above 50% because you got to get people to vote yes and when people are undecided or don’t know enough about initiatives, they tend to vote no just because it’s the safer vote.”
The strongest backers
Among voters who regularly cast ballots in statewide elections, overall support for redistricting jumped to 55%, compared with 34% opposed.
DiCamillo said that is significant.
“If I were to pick one subgroup where you would want to have an advantage, it would be that one,” he said.
Where to find the undecided votes
Winning in November, however, will require pushing undecided voters to back the redistricting plan.
Among Latino, Black and Asian voters, nearly 30% said they have yet to decide how they would vote on redistricting.
Women also have higher rates of being undecided compared with men, at 25% to 14%.
Younger voters are also more likely to be on the fence, with nearly a third of 18- to 29-year-olds saying they are unsure, compared with 11% of those older than 65.
The ever-growing divide
The partisan fight over election maps elicited deeply partisan results.
Nearly 7 in 10 Democratic voters said they would support the redistricting measure, and Republicans overwhelmingly panned the plan by about the same margin (72%).
California Republicans attempted to stall the process by filing an emergency petition at the state Supreme Court, arguing that Democrats violated the California Constitution by rushing the proposal through the Legislature.
The high court rejected the legal challenge Wednesday.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff writer Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Andrew J. Campa, reporter Karim Doumar, head of newsletters Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern
The strawberry delivery driver was making his last drop-off in Little Tokyo, unloading nearly a dozen boxes onto the sidewalk outside the Japanese American National Museum.
Inside the building, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his allies were holding a news conference about a Democratic Party plan to fight back against President Trump’s efforts to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives through redistricting in Texas.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios knew nothing of the powerful men’s clash as he stacked cardboard boxes filled with ripe, red fruit Thursday morning. He also didn’t know that dozens of Border Patrol agents were massing nearby.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios at his 48th birthday celebration this year.
(Courtesy of the family)
Minguela was caught between the two spectacles. His life was about to be upended.
In the days that followed, Newsom accused the Trump administration of trying to intimidate the president’s political opponents by sending the immigration agents. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin has said the agents were “focused on enforcing the law” not on Newsom.
Newsom has since submitted a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records from the administration about why agents arrived at the museum as he was announcing his latest skirmish with the president.
For Minguela, who has been in the country for close to a decade, that day felt a lot more personal. He was arrested by Border Patrol agents and now faces deportation back to Mexico. Speaking from behind a plexiglass window at the “B-18” federal detention center in downtown L.A. on Monday, Minguela stressed that he is not a criminal.
“One comes here to work, not commit crimes,” said Minguela, who wore the same red T-shirt and jeans he’d been arrested in four days prior.
When asked last week whether the person arrested outside the news conference had a criminal record, a Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency would share a criminal rap sheet when it was available. After four follow-up emails from a reporter, McLaughlin on Saturday said agents had arrested “two illegal aliens” in the vicinity of Newsom’s news conference — including “an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member and narcotics trafficker.”
Asked twice to clarify whether the alleged gang member and narcotics trafficker were the same person, Homeland Security officials did not respond. But when presented with Minguela’s biographical information Monday, the department said he had been arrested because he overstayed his visa — a civil, not criminal, offense.
Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino told Fox News on Aug. 15 that operations were based on intelligence about the alleged Tren de Aragua gang member. They arrested that man two blocks away from Newsom’s news conference.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios took this image of a federal agent looking at his identification outside the Japanese American National Museum on Aug. 14.
(Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios)
Two law enforcement sources who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak with the media told The Times they had received word from federal authorities that Little Tokyo had been targeted because of its proximity to the Newsom event.
For those who know Minguela, it felt like mala suerte — bad luck.
As Martha Franco, one of Minguela’s employers, put it, “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
::
Like every other weekday, Minguela rose before the sun to start his 2 a.m. delivery route Thursday. He had around eight places to hit.
He’d worked for the same produce company for around eight years and never missed a day.
That day, Minguela left his partner and their three children — ages 15, 12 and 7 — asleep in their home, hours before the kids would head off for their first day of school. His partner, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, had worked the night before as a cashier at a liquor store. She did not get off work until about 12:30 a.m. She brought him coffee as he started his day.
Shortly before 6 a.m., Minguela called his partner to wake her up so she could take the kids to school. Throughout the morning, they checked in with each other on how the day was progressing.
She called to warn him about immigration agents at Slauson and Miles avenues in Huntington Park. Over the last couple of months, as immigration raids became a part of daily life, the couple’s world had slowly shrunk.
Minguela had overstayed a tourist visa after fleeing the Mexican state of Coahuila in 2015 because of violence he faced there, his partner said. She said he had worked servicing ATMs there, was kidnapped twice and at one point was stabbed by people intent on stealing the money. After his employers cut staff, she said, he lost his job, helping drive his decision to leave.
Because he was undocumented, he rarely went out, leaving the house only for work and errands. Minguela began wondering whether it was even safe for him to pick up the kids from school, his partner said. He planned ahead, made copies of his keys and left money for his family in the event that he was grabbed by immigration agents.
That morning, he reassured his partner he was fine. He was heading to his last stop at a tea room in Little Tokyo.
“Ten mucho cuidado,” his partner told him.
Be very careful.
::
The Border Patrol agents descended on 1st Street in Little Tokyo about 11:30 a.m., just as Newsom’s news conference got underway.
They were decked out in camouflage and helmets, their faces obscured by black masks. One wore an American flag neck gaiter. They were armed, some with AR-15-style weapons.
Nearby, Minguela was busy unloading several boxes of strawberries and a box of apples. He didn’t notice the agents until they were close behind him. Then, he ducked back inside the van.
A video shared with The Times shows at least eight Border Patrol agents as they passed the van, its side door wide-open. They did not stop. Then, one appeared to double back and peek inside.
Minguela said he feels he was targeted based on his physical appearance.
When the agent began asking him questions, Minguela said he pulled a red “know your rights” card out of his wallet and handed it to the agent.
“This is of no use to me,” he said the agent told him. Another agent soon joined them.
Minguela told them he didn’t have to talk. But they kept asking questions, he said. What was his nationality? What was his name? Did he have papers?
“They demanded I show them some kind of identification,” he said. “Insisting, insisting.”
The agents were armed, and Minguela said he grew scared. Believing he had no choice, Minguela said, he gave one of the agents his California driver’s license.
Minguela tried to call his partner twice, but she was at a doctor’s appointment and couldn’t answer. At 11:22 a.m., he sent her three WhatsApp messages:
“Amor ya me agarró la migra..no te preocupes.”
“Todo va a estar bien.”
“Diosito nos va a ayudar mucho.”
Federal agents produced a show of force outside the Japanese American National Museum, where Gov. Gavin Newsom was holding a redistricting news conference on Aug. 14.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Immigration had gotten him, he said, but everything would be fine. God would help them, he assured her.
Minguela sent her a picture of an agent holding his license and seemingly plugging the information from it into a phone. Then, the agent arrested him.
Video captured Minguela, hands cuffed behind his back, as the agent linked an arm through his. He walked Minguela away from the van, toward Bovino.
After conferring with colleagues, the agent walked Minguela back toward his delivery van. Bovino patted the agent on the back and said, “Well done.”
At about the same time, one of Minguela’s employers, Isaias Franco, received a call from Little Tokyo warning him about the immigration activity. He immediately called Minguela, whose cell number is saved in his phone under “paisa,” countryman. Both hail from the Mexican city of Torreón.
No answer.
Franco texted him, trying to tell him what was unfolding.
By that time, though, Minguela was already in handcuffs.
::
Hours before visitation began at the detention center in downtown L.A. on Monday, families began lining up along a driveway where “B-18” was stamped in black on a concrete wall.
Someone had scrawled on the ground in chalk: “Abolish ICE” and “Viva La Raza.” Another message read, “Civil disobedience becomes a duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.”
By 11:30 a.m., 18 people were waiting for visitation to start at 1 p.m. In less than an hour, that number had ballooned to 33.
Three siblings there to visit their uncle who had been arrested at a car wash in Long Beach the day before. A woman whose uncle was taken from a Home Depot in Pasadena. Two sisters whose loved one had been arrested at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in.
They carried bags of medication and sweaters for detained loved ones, because they’d heard it was cold inside. Each person hoped to get in before visitation ended at 4 p.m., although it seemed increasingly unlikely for those at the back of the line.
Martha and Isaias, Minguela’s employers, were among the hopeful. It was their third attempt to see him. The day of Minguela’s arrest, they got there too late.
The next day, they arrived earlier and were in luck. On the advice of others in line, they brought a jacket to keep Minguela warm.
In the years they’ve employed Minguela, they’ve only ever seen his serious, professional side. But during the five minutes they got to visit with him Friday, he spent most of it in tears, hardly able to speak.
The couple assured him they would help however they could.
They returned on Monday, this time bringing a blue Ralph Lauren shirt and a pair of black New Balance socks so he could change clothing. Isaias and the couple’s son, Carlos, had both come, despite starting their workday at 2 a.m.
“We’re going to be with him until the end,” Martha said. “He’s part of our family. He’s one of us.”
As the hours wore on, people in line squatted or sat on the concrete to rest their aching legs. Martha flitted around, advising people to bring sweaters for loved ones and letting them know the officers allowed in only one item of clothing for each detained person.
By the start of visitation, 44 people were in line. Martha was No. 19. Families exited red-eyed, tears dripping down their cheeks after getting only a few minutes with their loved ones.
Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios several years ago, with his son.
(Courtesy of the family)
About 3 p.m., after waiting three and a half hours, the Francos handed the officer their passports and identification, before finally making it inside. They had to turn off their phones. They could give Minguela only the T-shirt. The officer said no to the socks, a prohibited second item of clothing.
Minguela beamed when he saw the Francos, who greeted him through the plexiglass window. He was trying to maintain his spirits, but said he felt “impotente.” Powerless.
The Francos told him not to sign anything.
“Vamos a estar con usted,” Isaias told Minguela, letting him know they would be with him. He and Carlos fist bumped Minguela through the Plexiglass.
“Échale ganas,” Isaias added, keep going.
::
Minguela’s children have hardly stopped crying since his arrest.
During the eight years he and his partner have been together, he’s helped raise her two children and their 7-year-old son, who is autistic.
Minguela’s lawyer, Alex Galvez, said the hope is that his client will be released on bond, as he initially entered the country lawfully and is the primary breadwinner for the family. The lawyer said he believes Minguela was arrested in defiance of a federal judge’s order that immigration authorities cannot racially profile people or use roving patrols to target immigrants.
“It was a political opportunity. He was one of the two guys picked up right during Newsom’s press conference,” Galvez said. “They had to show something for it.”
Just days before his arrest, Minguela’s family had celebrated his 48th birthday. His partner made him his favorite dish, shrimp ceviche.
Her birthday was Tuesday. The family had planned to go on a rare outing for a dinner of enchiladas de mole.
But they spent the day without him. There was no celebration.
The children asked their mother, as they have every day for nearly a week: When is papá coming home?
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
If you’re a Gen Xer or younger, there’s a good chance you’ve contemplated moving out of California.
The reasons are obvious. It’s expensive and difficult to raise a family, pay rent or even consider buying a home.
That struggle isn’t just on the mind of locals. Midwestern and Southern states have recognized an opportunity and are making their best pitches to frustrated Californians.
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So, is there a price Tulsa, Okla., could offer you to move? Are the incentives of cheaper gas, much shorter commutes and overall drive times enough of an appeal? I haven’t even mentioned the cost of living and a real chance of buying a home.
Rollins felt socially isolated working a remote job in Ocean Beach for a tech company, but still overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people around her.
Months earlier she read about a program, Tulsa Remote, that would pay remote workers to relocate to Oklahoma’s second-largest city for at least a year. She decided to give it a shot and visit.
“When I was [in California], I was so consumed with the process of day-to-day living — the traffic, getting places, scheduling things,” Rollins said. “Here there’s so much more space to think creatively about your life and to kind of set it up the way you want.”
After five months in Tulsa, Rollins met her significant other at a trivia night. Her partner, with whom she now lives, made the journey from California to Tulsa for school during the pandemic.
“He grew up in Santa Cruz and was living 10 minutes from me down the road in Pacifica, but we never met in California,” she said. “We met in Tulsa.”
What is Tulsa offering?
Tulsa Remote — funded by the George Kaiser Family Foundation — started in 2019, and has sought to recruit new residents to diversify the city’s workforce.
It decided to offer $10,000 to remote workers who would move to the state for at least a year.
The program also provides volunteer and socializing opportunities for new residents and grants them membership at a co-working space for 36 months.
What do the numbers say?
Tulsa Remote has attracted more than 3,600 remote workers since its inception.
More than 7,800 Californians have applied to the program and 539 have made the move, cementing California as the second-most popular origin state behind Texas.
Those numbers reflect something of a wider trend: From 2010 through 2023, about 9.2 million people moved from California to other states, while only 6.7 million people moved to California from other parts of the country, according to the American Community Survey.
A Public Policy Institute of California survey conducted in 2023 found that 34% of Californians have seriously considered leaving the state because of high housing costs.
Zach and Katie Meincke, former Westsiders
The lower cost of living was a huge bonus for the Meinckes when they moved three years ago.
They went from paying $2,400 in monthly rent on a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in L.A.’s Westside to a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house in Tulsa for just a few hundred dollars more.
It ended up being fortuitous timing for the couple, who discovered they were expecting their first child — a daughter named Ruth — just weeks after they decided to move.
The couple are expecting their second child in December.
It’s a life milestone that Meincke says may not have happened in Los Angeles. In California, it costs nearly $300,000 to raise a child to 18. In Oklahoma, researchers estimate it costs about $241,000, according to a LendingTree study this year.
“There was no way we were going to move into a house in Los Angeles unless we had roommates, and that’s not an ideal situation,” Zach Meincke said. “We were 37 when we left Los Angeles and it felt like we were at a point that if we wanted to have all those other things in life — children, a house — we need to make that shift.”
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff writer Andrew J. Campa, reporter Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Karim Doumar, head of newsletters Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Tory Lanez’s attempt to submit new evidence and challenge his 2022 felony conviction has collapsed.
Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, brought forward two petitions in his case, which concerns the 2020 shooting of hip-hop artist Megan Thee Stallion. According to Complex, one involved Peterson’s driver not testifying and the other sought to bring forward a new statement from a security guard for Kelsey Harris, the victim’s former best friend. Both were subsequently denied Tuesday by the California Court of Appeals.
Peterson’s legal team alleged at a press conference in May that Bradley Jennings, who was working as a bodyguard and driver for Harris, approached them and said he had witnessed a conversation in which Harris said “she had the gun, she fired it three times, Mr. Peterson grabbed her arm and knocked it down, and the gun fired two more times.”
An attorney for Lanez added, “In essence, Mr. Peterson never shot anybody.”
Megan Thee Stallion’s team was quick to respond, issuing a statement the next day.
“Tory Lanez was tried and convicted by a jury of his peers and his case was properly adjudicated through the court system,” they wrote, per XXL Magazine. “This is not a political matter — this is a case of a violent assault that was resolved in the court of law.”
Peterson is serving a 10-year sentence after being convicted of assault with a firearm, possession of a concealed firearm and negligent discharge of a gun. He has an active main appeal set for oral argument Aug. 18.
This is not the first time the 30-year-old rapper has seen his efforts to revive the case shot down. In May 2023, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied his motion for a new trial.
Judge David Herriford rejected arguments from Peterson’s defense team, which claimed that evidence had been wrongly submitted in the December 2022 trial he presided over. “I could be your son. I could be your brother,” the rapper pleaded, but to no avail.
Three months later, in August 2023, he received his 10-year sentence.
Have you ever been in a situation where you needed the toilet but could not go?
The bus driver took to Reddit to tell all(Image: Monty Rakusen via Getty Images)
We’ve all been at work when all of a sudden you need the toilet. And whilst you often don’t need to panic, the situation is different if you can’t go straight away.
When nature calls, and forces us to make a speedy retreat, most of us can easily break off, unless you’re mid-presentation. But it’s a whole other story for bus drivers – at least if they want to pop to one common place to head to the loo.
For drivers of London’s public transport services, loo breaks have to be taken seriously, because opportunities for relieving oneself are few and far between. In a Reddit forum, a London bus driver happily answered questions from the public about the dos and the don’ts of the job, and one question touched upon this very subject, reports MyLondon.
Opportunities for loo breaks must be taken seriously by drivers(Image: Alexandr Spatari / Getty Images)
A reader asked them what we’ve all often thought: “How do you handle bathroom breaks?” The answer? Go to the toilet anywhere – but not in a pub.
The driver said: “We have toilets at either end of the route usually, but if you’re caught short, you can call the controller over the radio and they know of spots across the routes for you to hop out and use – usually a bookies or McDonald’s.
“Interestingly, drivers years ago could use a boozer. However, understandably, people were getting worried when their drivers were hoping out mid route and popping in the pub for 5 minutes, so now we’re forbidden to enter a pub in any uniform.”
The driver also shared pearls of wisdom when responding to other queries from the public. One person asked, “What do you do when a stinky rider gets on?”
The driver responded: “Open the windows and carry on.” Another person asked: “Has anyone ever defecated on your buses?”
“No, however it’s usually a daily occurrence for people to chuck up their kebabs on a night shift after a heavy one,” answered the driver.
And his biggest pet peeve? Motorists attempting to undertake buses before they pull into stops.
Have you ever been in a situation where you needed the toilet but could not go?(Image: Getty)
The bus driver explained: “Seriously, it’s so dangerous to undertake any vehicle but even more so a vehicle that’s 35-40 foot long and weighs 11 tonnes. My first accident was because some boy racer tried to undertake me and got crunched against the curb whilst I was pulling into a bus stop, we have mirrors but they don’t solve the huge blind spots.
“For cyclists, I’d rather they didn’t go round me at a bus stop because it’s an absolute mission to go round them, and you just end up leapfrogging each other. However, we must share the road so do what you want I suppose.”
Transport for London has been approached for comment.
While cuisine often takes center stage in Southern California, at L.A. bars it’s also quite possible to “have it all.”
And we all have our favorites: the Short Stop in Echo Park after Dodger wins, the Tiki Ti in Los Feliz when you’re looking for the island vibe or a refreshing sidecar at Pico Rivera’s bustling and dimly lit Dal Rae.
Sure, they’re all wonderful. But it’s also fun to experience new scenes, different twists on some classics and to just find yourself in a different locale with a new drink.
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The Times’ Food team, led by colleagues Stephanie Breijo and Danielle Dorsey, is inviting readers to add to your favorites by visiting one or all of their 21 new bars to check out.
Here’s a quick look at their full list. Cheers.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Chinatown’s Evangeline Swamp Room
This is the place to let the good times roll in true New Orleans fashion.
All of the requisites are here: Ramos gin fizzes hand-shaken to an inch-high fluffy top, smooth sazeracs, mint juleps crowned with bushels of fresh mint, frosty hurricanes and more. But the Evangeline Swamp Room also makes room for a few of its own creations, such as a pink-lemonade take on the Pimm’s cup, a Cajun riff on the bloody Mary that’s garnished with blackened shrimp, and a rotation of frozen seasonal cocktails that go down dangerously easily. When you need food to sop it all up, opt for po’boys, charbroiled oysters, jambalaya fritters, fried okra and gator chili.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Hollywood’s Bar Avoja
Walk through the bar area of Mother Wolf past the semi-open kitchen where Evan Funke’s celebrated Roman dishes come flying out at a rapid clip. Head through the double doors, hang a left and you’ll find yourself at the entrance to Bar Avoja.
Like Mother Wolf, Bar Avoja — Roman slang for “hell yeah” — is co-owned by operator Giancarlo Pagani and inspired by the cuisine of Rome. The cocktails in this Thursday-to-Saturday lounge deserve praise. Sometimes they incorporate region-appropriate ingredients, such as limoncello and amari, other times they blend the unexpected (the Morso Di Vita, made with vodka, tomato, basil and passion fruit, is a highlight). Dimly lit and slightly upscale, it feels like a pared-down, intimate experience.
(Alyson Aliano/For The Times)
Los Feliz’s Untamed Spirits
Silver Lake’s first bar dedicated to women’s sports opened during Pride Month courtesy of wives Janie and Stephanie Ellingwood. Untamed Spirits features TVs throughout the space, from the open-air interior to the covered patio with string lights and hanging plants. The menu offers elevated bar standards including brisket nachos, kimchi fried rice and a smashburger, with house cocktails such as a pear lychee martini and tequila watermelon punch. Taco Tuesday brings tacos priced from $3 to $5, $3 tequila shots and $10 margaritas, while weekend brunch adds smoked brisket hash and a breakfast burrito. Untamed Spirits is an official bar partner of the Angel City Football Club and will host its first watch party on Sept. 7. Day parties, trivia and drag bingo round out the bar’s regular programming.
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
Venice’s Kassi
The lush, Grecian-inspired escape features a coastal palette with umbrellas, tables and comfortable couches for wasting away a summer day, all with a clear view of the crashing waves at Venice Beach. The beverage program fits the theme with strawberry and cucumber slushies that can be swirled together, a Mediterranean gin and tonic packed with fresh herbs and a pomegranate za’atar mule. The food menu from chef-partner Thomas Lim includes shareable bites such as mezze, skewers, crispy saganaki and a refreshing watermelon salad topped with whipped feta. The rooftop turns clubby with DJs in the evenings and on weekends; its patrons are a healthy mix of locals and tourists.
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Jim Rainey, staff writer Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Andrew J. Campa, reporter Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Zilisch is widely considered to be a future star of the sport and is expected to secure a full-time drive in Nascar’s top tier, the Cup Series, in 2026.
He has dominated in his rookie year in Xfinity, and won at Watkins Glen, New York, after emerging unscathed from a dramatic 16-car crash in the closing stages.
Zilisch was forced to miss a race after injuring his back in a crash at Talladega in June but bounced back in style and his win on Saturday was his fifth victory in eight races.
No timeline has been put on his return by Zilisch or his JR Motorsports team, which is run by former driver Dale Earnhardt Jr, but the Xfinity Series championship play-offs begin at Portland on 31 August.
He was set to make his fourth top-tier Cup start of the season on Sunday at Watkins Glen but will miss that race as a result of the injury.
You’re reading the Essential California newsletter
Our reporters guide you through the most important news, features and recommendations of the day.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
In short, Vegas is on a losing streak.
After fighting to bounce back from COVID-19 closures, Sin City is facing financial headwinds as fewer people, particularly Californians, are visiting, playing and ultimately spending money.
Traffic on Interstate 15 at the California-Nevada border was down 4.3% over the same period, suggesting fewer visitors doing road trips from the Golden State to Vegas casinos.
The number of air travelers into Las Vegas overall declined 6.3% over the previous June. In 2024, Californians made up more than a fifth of air travelers into Vegas, with nearly half of those coming from the Los Angeles metro area.
A demographic report from the visitors authority estimated that Southern California provided 30% of all visitors to the city in 2024.
Add it all up, and Californians could be responsible for a significant portion of the decline in Vegas tourism.
How do the numbers look internationally?
Tourism within the U.S. is only part of the picture, though, as experts previously predicted we are also seeing a slump in international tourism to the U.S. The convention and visitors authority estimates that 12% of the city’s visitors are international.
A report from the World Travel and Tourism Council projected that the U.S. would lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending in 2025.
“While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign,” Julia Simpson, the council’s president, said in a statement.
The report cited air-travel booking data from March that showed a 15% to 20% drop in expected travel from major tourism sources, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada.
What about Mexico and Canada?
Visitors from Canada and Mexico made up more than half of international visitors to Las Vegas in 2024, according to data from the visitors authority.
But President Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state and his decision to hit Canada with tariffs have not endeared him to Canadian travelers. Meanwhile, media overseas have been bombarded with stories of capricious denials and detentions of travelers at U.S. border crossings.
Apparently, Mexican and Canadian tourists are not feeling so welcome in the U.S. these days.
What’s next?
“Las Vegas thrives on tourism,” Rep. Steven Horsford wrote last week on X, “but under the Trump slump, the numbers are tanking.” Horsford, a Democrat, represents Nevada’s 4th Congressional District, which includes a portion of Las Vegas.
By many metrics — including visitor totals, convention attendance and room occupancy rates — Las Vegas has not fully recovered from the onset of the pandemic.
In dollar terms, however, Sin City continues to profit even as visitor numbers drop: Clark County, which includes Vegas, collected $1.16 billion in gambling revenue in June 2025, up 3.5% from a year earlier.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff writer Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Andrew J. Campa, reporter Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
A veteran high-speed driver has died after losing control of his vehicle while driving at nearly 300 miles per hour Sunday during the 2025 Bonneville Speed Week event in northwestern Utah.
Chris Raschke, 60, was treated by medical professionals, but died at the scene of the accident at the Bonneville Salt Flats, near Wendover, Utah, according to a press release by event organizer Southern California Timing Assn.
“When you lose anybody in the community, it’s always tough,” race director and SCTA board president Keith Pedersen told The Times on Tuesday. “And somebody as well-liked and known as Chris, that makes it even tougher.”
In addition to being a “very accomplished race car driver,” Pedersen said, Raschke was also “very, very friendly, very competitive. But he’s also the type of person that if you needed a part or something, he would give it to you and say, ‘Yeah, just bring it back when you’re done.’”
According to Raschke’s Speed Demon bio page, he was “the first official employee at Ventura Raceway in the early 80’s” and over the years became involved in practically all aspects of motor sports.
Also an employee of ARP Auto Parts, which makes fasteners and other products for race cars, Raschke worked as part of the Speed Demon crew for more than a decade before becoming a driver for the team.
At last year’s Speed Week, Raschke topped out at 446 mph, which Pedersen said was the fastest measured mile at the event. This year, he was driving the latest iteration of his team’s vehicle, the Speed Demon 3. Pederson confirmed that Raschke’s last recorded speed during Sunday’s race was 283 mph.
A Facebook post from the Speed Demon team account stated: “At this time, we ask everyone to please respect Chris’s family, friends, and the Speed Demon team. We are deeply devastated.”
The Tooele County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Raschke’s death, with assistance from the SCTA. Sgt. Dan Lerdahl told The Times that the crash is being viewed as an accident, although it is unclear at this point whether the cause was “a roadway issue, a mechanical issue or just a freak thing.”
Racing was suspended following Rashke’s crash but resumed Monday. Pedersen said canceling the event, which runs through Friday at the at the Bonneville Salt Flats, was never really a consideration.
“We’ve been doing Speed Week for 77 years, and over those years, there have been other fatalities out here. And it’s always a tragedy,” Pedersen said. “But we typically regroup. … We grieve and we race. Chris would have wanted us to race, and we’re continuing to do that.”
