WASHINGTON — After a late-night vote and last-minute ruling, the Federal Reserve began a key meeting on interest rate policy Tuesday with both a new Trump administration appointee and an official the White House has targeted for removal.
Stephen Miran, a top White House economist who was confirmed by the Senate with unusual speed late Monday, was sworn in Tuesday as a member of the Fed’s board of governors. He will vote on the Fed’s interest rate decision on Wednesday, when the central bank is expected to reduce its key rate by a quarter-point. Miran may dissent in favor of a larger cut.
Also attending the meeting is Fed governor Lisa Cook, whom the Trump administration has sought to fire in an unprecedented attempt to reshape the Fed, which historically is considered independent of day-to-day politics. An appeals court late Monday upheld an earlier ruling that the firing violated Cook’s due process rights. A lower court had earlier also ruled that President Trump did not provide sufficient “cause” to remove Cook.
With both officials in place, the Fed’s two-day meeting could be unusually contentious for an institution that typically prefers to operate by consensus. It’s possible that as many as three of the seven governors could dissent from a decision to reduce rates by just a quarter-point in favor of a half-point. That would be the first time since 1988 that three governors have dissented. Economists also say that one of the five regional Fed bank presidents who also vote on rates could dissent in favor of keeping rates unchanged.
On Tuesday, the White House said it would appeal Cook’s case to the Supreme Court, though did not specify when.
“The President lawfully removed Lisa Cook for cause,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “The Administration will appeal this decision and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
There was much ado Wednesday about President Trump’s picks to receive the coveted Kennedy Center Honors in December. Journalists and culture watchers combed through the histories of the president’s nominees — including actor and filmmaker Sylvester Stallone, glam-rock band KISS, disco singer Gloria Gaynor, country music star George Strait and English actor Michael Crawford — in order to better understand his choices.
Gaynor left some scratching their heads, especially because the disco queen’s most iconic song, “I Will Survive,” is an established anthem on dance floors at LGBTQ+ clubs. But Stallone — fondly known as Sly Stallone — seemed an obvious option. He was part of a cohort of tough-guy performers, including Jon Voight and Mel Gibson, named by Trump as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood, and he once called Trump the “second George Washington” while introducing at a gala in Palm Beach, Fla.
But the heart of an artist apparently beats beneath the “Rocky” star’s hardened pectorals. His Instagram is littered with abstract paintings featuring thick, brash strokes with obvious nods to the work of Jackson Pollock and Jean-Michel Basquiat. He is exclusively represented by Provident Fine Art in Palm Beach, and regularly posts his canvases to social media with captions like, “No hesitation. No overthinking. Just color, motion, guts. Sometimes you don’t wait for the perfect moment—you throw the punch and make it count.”
Another, of a twisted yellow and red face, reads, “A portrait I did of Rambo’s state of mind before he enters a BATTLE, called ‘…SEEING RED’.”
Not all of Sly’s fans are happy about his affiliation with Trump. A comment on his most recent painting read, “Sorry to hear you are taking part in the Kennedy honors. Linking your self to trump is not a good look. I hope you reconsider.”
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, wondering if the “Tulsa King’s” oil paintings might now make it into the Smithsonian. Here’s your arts news for the week.
Best bets: On our radar this week
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Antigone Frederique Michel directs Neil Labute’s adaptation of the Jean Anouilh play exploring the effects of authoritarianism (inspired by Sophocles, it was first produced in 1944 Paris during the Nazi occupation). Friday through Sept. 21. City Garage Theatre, Bergamot Station Arts Center, 2525 Michigan Ave. T1, Santa Monica. citygarage.org
Pirates Wanted Last Call Theatre presents an immersive adventure experience featuring swashbuckling, knot tying, navigation, liar’s dice, sea shanties and more. Recommended for landlubbers 13 and over. Younger mateys must be accompanied by an adult. Aug. 16-17, 22-24. Pine Ave. Pier, Long Beach. ticketleap.events/tickets/lastcalltheatre/lastcallpirateswanted
Russian pianist performs with the L.A. Phil Tuesday and Thursday at the Hollywood Bowl.
(L.A. Phil)
Rachmaninoff Under the Stars Two nights, two different programs of the Russian romanticist’s work featuring Russian pianist Daniil Trifinov and the L.A. Phil conducted by Daniel Harding. 8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
The Broadway production of “Shucked” in 2023; the national tour arrives Tuesday at the Hollywood Pantages.
(Mathew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
Shucked The corn and puns are higher than an elephant’s eye in this Tony-winning musical comedy with a book by Robert Horn, music and lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally and directed by Jack O’Brien. Tuesday through Sept. 7. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. broadwayinhollywood.com
Multi-instrumentalist Herbie Hancock performs Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl.
(Amy Harris / Invision / AP)
Herbie Hancock The versatile performed is joined by trumpeter Terence Blanchard, bassist James Genus, guitarist-singer Lionel Loueke and drummer Jaylen Petinaud for a freewheeling night of jazz. 8 p.m. Wednesday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
Culture news
Perry Picasshoe and his father walk through downtown Riverside while looking for a good spot to place another ice block on July 3, 2025.
(Daniel Hernandez)
Riverside artist Perry Picasshoe found a way to address the pain and upheaval of seeing people in his community pursued and deported by ICE. In a symbolic effort, Picasshoe melted 36 ice blocks on sidewalks of the Inland Empire where enforcement raids took place. “I took it as a metaphor of what’s happening,” Picasshoe said in an interview withDe Los. “I was also thinking a lot about having these blocks of ice as almost a stand-in for people.”
Times Theater Critic Charles McNulty attended a Black Out matinee performance of the two-character play “Berta, Berta,” by Angelica Chéri. The show is receiving its West Coast premiere in an Echo Theater Company production at Atwater Village Theatre directed by Andi Chapman. The action, which takes place in 1923 Mississippi, unfolds as the titular character wakes in the middle of the night to find the love of her life covered in the blood of a man he killed. The play’s themes were enhanced by the unique community environment of the performance, McNulty writes. “I was more alert to the through line of history. Although set in the Deep South during the Jim Crow era, there appeared to be little distance between the characters and the audience,” he notes.
A new museum is set to open in a historic building in Miami, honoring, “the history of Cuban exiles with immersive, state-of-the-art exhibits that explore the meaning of migration, freedom and homeland,” writes Joshua Goodman. The building that houses the new enterprise was once the city’s tallest structure and was known as the “Ellis Island” of Miami.
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Dancer Michael Tomlin III, with the Lula Washington Dance Company, rehearses in Los Angeles in January 2020.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Lula Washington Dance Theatre is celebrating its 45th anniversary on Aug. 23 at the Ford. Washington has been a seminal figure in the arts world, including in her home base of South L.A. — guiding and shaping hundreds of young community members and dancers at her studio over the years. The company has toured extensively around America and the world, and in 2021 received a nearly $1 million Mellon Grant. “Where there’s a will there’s a way. We are still here! After all of the trials and tribulations, riots, earthquakes, COVID and Project 2025, we are still dancing! Dance has saved us and it will save us all,” Washington told The Times in advance of the anniversary. The tribute at the Ford will include performances of historic Washington pieces alongside new works by Martha Graham, Donald McKayle and more. For tickets and additional information, click here.
The Old Globe announced that actor Katie Holmes will kick off the theater’s 2026 season in a new production of Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler,” directed by the Globe’s Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. The classic stage play is being given fresh life in a Globe-commissioned new version by playwright and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson. The show marks Holmes’ return to the Globe after Edelstein directed her in a 2023 production of “The Wanderers.” Performances are scheduled to run from Feb. 7 to March 8, 2026, and tickets are currently available by subscription only at TheOldGlobe.org.
The Broad is back with its summer concert series. On Aug. 16, guests can attend a show called “PAST + FUTURE = PRESENT, Pt. 1.” The after-hours event (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.) includes access to the special exhibition, “Jeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me,” as well as two performance stages on several museum floors. Haisla hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids will rock out upstairs while indie rockers Black Belt Eagle Scout will take to the lobby stage.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Wondering what Trump’s Kennedy Center Honors announcement felt like to watch? Here are the first 13 minutes, although it went on for much (much) longer.
Exclusive footage newly obtained by Al Jazeera captures the harrowing moment an Israeli drone-fired missile killed a Palestinian girl carrying water in Jabalia, northern Gaza, in December 2024. Two men are later seen retrieving her body.
White House features crypto industry leaders investigated by the government, as critics highlight Trump’s personal business interests.
Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has signed into law new cryptocurrency legislation that advocates say represents a watershed moment for the industry.
Speaking from the White House on Friday, the US president hailed the GENIUS Act, which establishes regulations and consumer protections for stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency whose value is linked to a fixed currency or commodity.
The signing capped what Trump dubbed “crypto week”, as a total of three cryptocurrency bills made their way through the US legislature.
In the end, only the legislation related to stablecoin landed on Trump’s desk
Two other bills — one that would bar government-issued digital currencies and another that would more clearly define regulatory classifications for cryptocurrency products — were sent from the US House of Representatives on Thursday to the Senate, where they have yet to undergo a vote.
Still, Trump hailed Friday’s bill-signing ceremony as “a giant step to cement the American dominance of global finance and crypto technology”.
Industry advocates have said bills like the GENIUS Act will help to make cryptocurrency more mainstream in the US. They say a lack of regulatory clarity has hindered wider public adoption of digital currencies.
But critics have voiced concern about the Trump family’s close ties to the crypto industry, including its stake in World Liberty Financial, a company that launched its own stablecoin, USD1.
They highlight the fact that the recent flurry of Republican-led legislation does not address whether a president can hold interests in cryptocurrency, leaving an opening for corruption.
Democrats also criticised the GENIUS Act for creating an inadequate regulatory framework that could pose longterm financial risks and open the door for major corporations to issue their own private cryptocurrencies.
Still, speaking on Friday, Trump pledged to continue his embrace of the crypto industry, including by furthering his pitch to create a national “crypto reserve”.
Trump also framed his administration as a hard pivot away from the policies of former President Joe Biden, who took a more aggressive approach to investigating cryptocurrency-related crimes.
Since taking office for a second term in January, Trump ended several Biden-era cryptocurrency investigations and suspended a special Department of Justice enforcement team.
Some of the cryptocurrency leaders previously investigated by the US government were in the audience at the White House.
“You’ve come a long way since the Biden administration, when they had no idea what you were all talking about, and half of you were under arrest for no reason whatsoever,” Trump told them at the signing ceremony.
He addressed certain industry leaders by name, including Brian Armstrong, Chris Pavlovski and twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, all of whom faced probes from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations under Biden.
“Let me say the entire crypto community, for years you were mocked and dismissed and counted out,” Trump said.
“You were counted out as little as a year and a half ago, but this signing is a massive validation.”
The loved-up couple shocked fans when they called time on their romance despite appearing to be happier than ever just months ago.
But Helen appeared as though she didn’t have a care in the world as she danced and partied atWayne Lineker‘s famed O BeachIbizaclub.
She could be seen cuddled up to the venue’s owner Wayne as she thanked him for his hospitality in hosting her and her friends at the venue.
read more on helen flanagan
Wayne could be seen planting a kiss on Helen’s head as she proudly held up one of the club’s signature orange cups as she wrote on Instagram: “Best day @obeachibiza always the most fun day x.”
Helen flaunted her incredible figure in the plunging bikini top as she soaked up the sun.
With her wavy blonde locks in a chic bob cut, Helen looked every inch the glam goddess with her minimal makeup and rosy pink lip.
However, the day after, the star took to her Instagram stories to describe her hangover from hell.
She captioned the video: “I never ever have hangovers as I am the worst on a hangover.”
And told her followers: “I am really hungover like a lizard. I am literally so hangover.
Helen Flanagan looks incredible as she poses in a bikini after split from boyfriend Robbie Talbot
“I won’t be drinking for like a long time. I’ve got the school run tomorrow. Oh my god. I literally got in at six in the morning.”
Helen held her head in her hands and she took deep breaths.
She then enjoyed a relaxing spa day at the TRS Ibiza Hotel where she “finally found some zen.”
What do we know about Helen Flanagan’s new boyfriend Robbie Talbot?
HELEN Flanagan has revealed that she is in a new relationship.
While appearing on Celebs Go Dating, she confessed that she was already taken – here’s everything we know about her boyfriend Robbie Talbot.
Helen has opened up about her relationship with former footballer Robbie Talbot.
He is a decade older than the actress.
Robbie was born in Liverpool on October 31, 1979 which is how he earned his nickname Halloween Hitman in football.
He has played for a series of non-league teams such as Burton Albion, Burscough and Morcambe.
He then became a coach at Ashton in 2010.
Robbie is retired from football.
He left his role as Assistant Manager at Ashton due to family and work commitments in 2011.
It’s unknown what he has done for work since leaving football.
Helen admitted that she was dating Robbie while appearing on Celebs Go Dating.
In a first for the show, it has been revealed that her relationship had to be written into the series due to requirements that those taking part have to be single.
The pair went public at her birthday party on August 10, 2024.
The Celebs Go Dating star had claimed she wanted children with the ex-non-league footie star.
But friends say the mum of three instead now wants to concentrate on her career and family.
A source said: “They want different things in life. She has just landed a new acting job and is trying to juggle work projects with the kids.
“She sat him down two weeks ago and said, ‘This isn’t working’. It was a grown-up chat.
“She just wants to be on her own for a while although she still has feelings for him.”
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Helen experienced the worst hangover the morning afterCredit: Instagram
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She found that the hotel spa was the best hangover cureCredit: Instagram
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Helen shocked fans when she called time on her romance with Robbie despite appearing to be happier than ever just months agoCredit: instagram/helenflanagan
