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Live Nation trial resumes, as 32 states proceed with trial

Live Nation, the ticketing giant that reached a tentative settlement with the Department of Justice last week, remains under fire.

A coalition of more than 30 states that had joined the original lawsuit filed in 2024 is refusing to accept the $200-million settlement, causing the trial to resume this week in Manhattan’s Federal Court.

The settlement with the Justice Department requires Beverly Hills-based Live Nation to open Ticketmaster to rival ticket sellers, force the company to open select venues to competing promoters and cap service fees at 15%. California is one of the key states still involved in the trial.

But those steps fall short, critics say.

“It’s clear that Live Nation has manipulated the market and made itself untouchable by competitors, hurting artists, hurting fans, hurting venues, all the while, raking in the cash,” said California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta at the Capitol Forum conference last week. “Not because it’s a better service or product, because it acted illegally and created a monopoly.”

U.S. senators have also chimed in. Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar recently introduced the Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act to strengthen the review of antitrust settlements. Klobuchar said in a release that it’s “clear the American people got the raw end of the deal.”

And Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal released a report that provides new details into the inner workings of Ticketmaster and urges attorneys general across the nation to reject the settlement.

Blumenthal said that the Trump administration’s settlement with Live Nation will keep consumers vulnerable to Ticketmaster’s “anticompetitive practices” and ultimately push “concert tickets farther out of reach for fans.”

The senator’s report, entitled “So Casually Cruel: How Ticketmaster’s Monopoly Supercharges Prices and Fees,” examined over 100,000 documents and Ticketmaster’s revenue data. The report argues that the company leveraged its market control to make tickets available on the resale market before they were available to the general public in an effort to hike prices and boost profits.

“The ticketing market is broken,” Blumenthal said in a statement.

In its own statement, Ticketmaster said Blumenthal’s report “misrepresents how the live events industry works” and that the problem lies in the secondary ticketing industry.

“This is why we’ve long called for industry resale reform, including price caps, while also developing tools to empower artists and protect fans,” Ticketmaster said in a statement.

Recently, Ticketmaster has backed ticketing bills like AB-1349 and advocated to Congress for an industry-wide resale cap.

Sens. Blumenthal and Klobuchar are among many industry experts who say the settlement doesn’t adequately address anticompetitive practices and falls short of protecting consumers from high ticket prices.

Under Klobuchar’s new bill, courts could have 90 days to review public comments and government responses.

“When the government prosecutes antitrust violations, the goal should be to uphold the law, lower prices, and protect consumers and small businesses,” Klobuchar said in the statement.

Lindsay Owens, the executive director of the economic policy nonprofit Groundwork Collaborative, said the settlement will end up being “incredibly costly for concertgoers, performers, and independent venues.”

“California and 35 other states are standing up for Americans who are sick and tired of being ripped off and having to scrimp and save to enjoy a night out,” Owens said in a statement.

This ongoing trial is one of several major legal battles the ticketing giant is facing. The company is also being sued by the Federal Trade Commission and is dealing with a handful of class-action lawsuits from groups of concertgoers.

Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.

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K-Pop Demon Hunters fans go wild as HUNTR/X makes history with powerful live Oscars performance

K-POP Demon Hunters fans shared their reactions to watching HUNTR/X’s history-making Oscars performance and win.

The trio of voices behind the band from the popular Netflix film – Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami – took the stage at the 98th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, moving audiences worldwide with tears of joy.

HUNTR/X took the stage at the 98th annual Academy Awards on Sunday
The trio – Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami – performed their hit track, Golden, from K-Pop Demon HuntersCredit: ABC

They performed their iconic track, Golden, celebrating the folklore and cultural inspiration brought from the 2025 animated film.

Shortly after hitting the stage, K-Pop Demon Hunters, which became Netflix’s most-watched film ever, won the award for Best Original Song for Golden, after dominating awards season.

HUNTR/X, who nabbed two awards – Best Song Written for Visual Media for the famed track and Best Original Song – at the Golden Globes in January, incorporated instrumentals and dance into their performance at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.

“Let’s go K-POP Demon Hunters!” one fan wrote on X.

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“I love me some K-pop demon hunters! Those girls were singing down in that movie lol,” said another.

“K-Pop Demon Hunters made HISTORY,” reacted a third.

“The only thing I care about at the Oscars is K Pop Demon Hunters. If it were up to me, I’d give them all the possible awards,” added a fourth.

However, many were disappointed upon seeing that their acceptance speech was abruptly cut short, as were many others throughout the night, despite them pleading for more time.

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Absolutely disrespectful of the #oscars for cutting off kpop demon hunters in their acceptance speech. They were given less time than every other winner and the Oscar’s owes them an apology,” one fan raged.

I don’t like how they cut off the Kpop Demon Hunters Cast. That was nasty #Oscars,” someone else complained.

“Congrats to Michael B Jordan, but why did he get 3x the amount of time for his speech than the KPop Demon Hunters crew?” said another, referencing Sinners star Michael B. Jordan’s Best Actor win afterwards.

According to The Independent, HUNTR/X is the first all-Asian musical act to take the Oscars stage, following Blackpink K-pop band member Lisa, who was the first K-pop artist to perform at the show last year.

In August 2025, Netflix revealed that K-Pop Demon Hunters was the platform’s most popular movie of all time, overtaking the previous record-holder, Red Notice, starring Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot.

“KPop Demon Hunters has gone up, up, up, and it’s their Golden moment,” the streaming service said in a statement.

Biggest Oscar Nominees of 2026 Academy Awards

Everyone in Hollywood hopes to snag a nod on the industry’s biggest night but only few get that honor. Here are the nominees and winners from the major categories of the 2026 Academy Awards:

Best Picture

  • Bugonia
  • F1
  • Frankenstein
  • Hamnet
  • Marty Supreme
  • One Battle After Another *WINNER*
  • The Secret Agent
  • Sentimental Value
  • Sinners
  • Train Dreams

Best Director

  • Chloé Zhao — Hamnet
  • Josh Safdie — Marty Supreme
  • Paul Thomas Anderson — One Battle After Another *WINNER*
  • Joachim Trier — Sentimental Value
  • Ryan Coogler — Sinners

Best Actor (Leading Role)

  • Timothée Chalamet — Marty Supreme
  • Leonardo DiCaprio — One Battle After Another
  • Ethan Hawke — Blue Moon
  • Michael B. Jordan — Sinners *WINNER*
  • Wagner Moura — The Secret Agent

Best Actress (Leading Role)

  • Jessie Buckley — Hamnet *WINNER*
  • Rose Byrne — If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
  • Renate Reinsve — Sentimental Value
  • Emma Stone — Bugonia
  • Kate Hudson — Song Sung Blue

Best Supporting Actor

  • Benicio Del Toro — One Battle After Another
  • Jacob Elordi — Frankenstein
  • Delroy Lindo — Sinners
  • Sean Penn — One Battle After Another *WINNER*
  • Stellan Skarsgård — Sentimental Value

Best Supporting Actress

  • Teyana Taylor — One Battle After Another
  • Wunmi Mosaku — Sinners
  • Amy Madigan — Weapons *WINNER*
  • Elle Fanning — Sentimental Value
  • Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas — Sentimental Value

Best Original Screenplay

  • Marty Supreme — Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein
  • Blue Moon — Richard Linklater & Glen Powell
  • Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier & Eskil Vogt
  • Sinners — Ryan Coogler *WINNER*
  • It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • One Battle After Another — Paul Thomas Anderson *WINNER*
  • Bugonia — Yorgos Lanthimos & Will Tracy
  • Frankenstein — Guillermo del Toro
  • Hamnet — Chloé Zhao
  • Train Dreams — Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Best Animated Feature

  • Arco
  • KPop Demon Hunters *WINNER*
  • Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
  • Zootopia 2
  • Elio

Best International Feature Film

  • The Secret Agent — Brazil
  • Sentimental Value — Norway *WINNER*
  • It Was Just an Accident — Iran
  • Sirāt — Spain
  • The Voice of Hind Rajab — Tunisia

Best Documentary Feature

  • The Alabama Solution
  • Come See Me in the Good Light
  • Cutting Through Rocks
  • Mr. Nobody Against Putin *WINNER*
  • The Perfect Neighbor

“The animated musical officially became Netflix’s most popular film of all time on the Most Popular English Films list with 236 million total views.

In response to the film’s massive success, Netflix released a sing-along “party at home” version, K-Pop Hunters Sing-Along, that’s currently streaming on the app.

The movie was produced by Sony Pictures Animation and helmed by Maggie Kang, a Canadian film director born in Seoul, South Korea.

Maggie described the film as a “love letter to K-pop,” also known as “Korean pop music.”

On March 12, Netflix announced that the beloved animation will be getting a sequel, with directors Maggie and Chris Appelhans returning behind the scenes.

A release date has yet to be revealed, but fans can expect it may be a while, given the first film went into production in 2021 and wasn’t released until 2025.

“I feel immense pride as a Korean filmmaker that the audience wants more from this Korean story and our Korean characters,” Maggie said in a statement about the sequel.

“There’s so much more to this world we have built, and I’m excited to show you. This is only the beginning.”

The ladies are the voices behind the characters in the Netflix film, K-Pop Demon Hunters, which is nominated for two Oscar AwardsCredit: Getty
K-Pop Demon Hunters became the most-watched film on Netflix ever following its 2025 releaseCredit: Getty
HUNTR/X is the first all-Asian musical act to perform at the OscarsCredit: Getty

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‘Slow TV’, like Jackie and Shadow’s live cam, may be an antidote to turbulent times

Erin Wagner lives in the Chicago suburbs but visits two bald eagles in Southern California’s Big Bear Valley nearly every day.

At work, the 41-year-old often plays a livestream featuring Jackie and Shadow on one of her monitors — a respite when she needs a break.

The avian power couple follows her home, keeping her company as she cooks dinner.

“We live in such a busy world, and things are always being thrown at our face, so sometimes it’s nice to just have a gentle reminder of nature and what else is out there in the world,” Wagner told me last week.

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She is just one of many devoted fans; the eagles had the highest view count of any year-round nature livestream active on YouTube between last fall and this spring, said Rebecca Mauldin, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington who studies social connectedness.

While the eagles’ following is singular, it’s part of a broader trend: surging interest in webcams that broadcast nature, unadulterated, minute by minute, in all its messy glory.

The number of 24/7 livestreams created per year swelled by about 3,000% between 2019 and 2025, Mauldin’s data show.

Jackie and Shadow’s livestream exemplifies “Slow TV,” a genre that began with a 2009 Norwegian broadcast of a seven-hour train trip. It took off, with other marathon programs featuring chopping firewood and knitting.

Nature looms large in the format. Millions tune into Sweden’s live coverage of an annual moose migration, and the same goes for a seasonal broadcast of bears chowing down on salmon in Alaska.

The appeal makes intuitive sense. In a world of quick camera cuts, sound bites and troubling headlines, Mother Nature’s rhythms can be a salve. And with many of us wound up in concrete urbanity, the livestreams offer instant transportation to the wild.

Following Jackie and Shadow takes patience. If they’re not hanging out at the nest, it’s a waiting game until they come back. Even when they’re there, there may not be much going on.

Entertainment “can be very artificial, it can be very packaged, and it can be very short,” said Jenny Voisard, media manager for Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit that operates the cameras broadcasting the eagles. “This is long and slow and calm.”

Yet nature is unpredictable, another draw for viewers. This nesting season alone has brought plenty of drama, from the lovebirds losing their eggs to ravens to laying more not long after. Last week, I wrote about the couple’s shocking origin — it involves a love triangle! — and their rise to reality stardom.

Last year, Jackie and Shadow raised two chicks that fledged: Sunny and Gizmo

Last year, Jackie and Shadow raised two chicks that went on to fledge: Sunny and Gizmo

(Friends of Big Bear Valley)

Research backs the vibes. Those who watch nature livestreams — from platypi to osprey — report a host of benefits, from uplifted mood to relaxation, said Mauldin, citing a literature review she-coauthored.

Others get jazzed about learning about a particular species, she said.

There may be limitations, though.

In terms of connecting to nature, “I lean toward the effect is stronger if you’re actually outdoors, or, you know, you’ve got a little ant crawling on your finger and watching it,” Mauldin said.

She highlighted another dimension I didn’t think of: Many “talk about how they’re developing strong online relationships, and you can see it in the chats or in the comments.”

Someone might comment that they had a bad day and are glad to be watching their favorite birds again, and another viewer will rally to support them. Then there are people who watch on their own, but gab about it later with a friend.

Friends of Big Bear Valley, with 1.2 million followers on Facebook, offers more than just updates on the eagles. It’s a buzzing community center where fans can share their thoughts and engage with one another.

Animals may also get something out of being watched: protection.

The eagle cam, for example, “sort of stokes the public’s imagination and interest in conservation,” said Thomas Leeman, deputy chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s migratory bird program in the Pacific Southwest. “They start to really care about whichever particular birds that they’re watching.”

Wagner, of Chicago, said her husband and 14-year-old son sometimes give her a hard time about how invested she is in Jackie and Shadow.

But her cat, Oscar, shares her fascination.

She recently posted a photo of the feline on Jackie and Shadow’s Facebook — looking intently at a TV where an eagle hunkered down on the nest.

“My new cat is just as obsessed as all of us,” she wrote.

More recent wildlife news

Big Bear’s celeb eagles continue to keep us on our toes. Jackie recently vanished from the nest for nearly 24 hours, sending fans into a panic — but eventually reunited with her eggs and mate, reports USA Today’s Michelle Del Rey.

While we’re on the subject of avian kind: Last week, I wrote about a pair of condors that appear to be nesting in Northern California, something not seen for a century. The Yurok Tribe is leading the effort to bring the large, endangered vultures back to their historic homeland in Humboldt and Del Norte counties.

As conservationists celebrate that win, the story for birds nationwide is not so rosy. A recent study found that North America is rapidly losing birds, and the loss is accelerating, largely due to intensive agriculture and warming temperatures, writes the Associated Press’ Seth Borenstein.

A few last things in climate news

Trump’s war on Iran has disrupted global oil and gas supplies. The conflict has kept ships that carry millions of barrels of oil a day stranded in the Persian Gulf, and key Middle East facilities have sustained damage, reports the Associated Press.

Oil prices have spiked, and Californians are paying the highest price at the pump in the nation. As my colleague Iris Kwok explains, that’s due to the state’s higher taxes and stricter requirements for cleaner, more expensive gas that pollutes.

Sticker shock at gas stations is expected to spur more Americans to consider hybrid or electric vehicles, according to fellow Times staffers Caroline Petrow-Cohen and Blanca Begert.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice has released a legal opinion that sets the stage to approve a controversial oil operation off the Santa Barbara County coast, The Times’ Grace Toohey reports.

This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. And listen to our Boiling Point podcast here.

For more wildlife and outdoors news, follow Lila Seidman at @lilaseidman.bsky.social on Bluesky and @lila_seidman on X.

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