residents

Leonard R. Garner Jr. loves roller coasters. And the mostly-retired television director and actor has a place in his heart for Universal Studios Hollywood, the theme park atop the studio where he spent many days behind a camera.

He also adores the tranquility of his home. As a resident of Toluca Lake, the tiny neighborhood nestled below the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Super Nintendo World and other park staples, Garner watched with curiosity as Universal Studios began erecting Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, its new outdoor, high-speed thrill ride. He continued to track the construction over the next three or four years while out on afternoon walks.

At last, when Universal Studios began testing the ride this spring, Garner breathed a sigh of relief. “I was amazed at how quiet it was,” he said. “I could not hear it at all.”

But he wasn’t considering one detail: There were no people on it.

Everything changed, Garner and numerous other Toluca Lake residents said, the summer day when Universal Studios began running the coaster with a full slate of riders. There were screams. They were loud — piercing even double-paned windows. And they were constant.

“Disturbing,” said one resident, Dr. Christopher Zito.

“You think something is happening,” said Patrick Nazari, another resident. “Like someone is getting murdered out there.”

Garner said he stopped in his tracks. “I heard it, and I thought to myself, ‘There are going to be problems with this.’”

Universal’s new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster can be seen (and heard) from Toluca Lake.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Headaches at least, both for the residents of Toluca Lake and for Universal Studios Hollywood in the days before the ride’s opening this summer. For residents, there’s panic as to what, if any, recourse they may have at this late stage, with one man joking he may forever have to blast loud music all day to mask rider screams. For Universal Studios Hollywood, the complaints, first reported on social media and quickly picked up by media outlets, have added a sudden jolt of negative publicity around what was intended to be the North American ride of 2026.

Longtime Toluca Lake residents have had to get used to its high-powered neighbor making changes over the past few decades. Through the last 10 years in particular, Universal Studios Hollywood has accelerated in growth, evolving from a behind-the-movie-magic showcase to a park that’s increasingly ride-centered, each addition bringing with it new worries of disruptions to the community. None, say residents, have been more tone-altering than this one.

Karen Rogers has lived in Toluca Lake for more than 20 years. “It was a never a roller coaster kind of park,” she said. “When a lot of residents moved in, it was about the history of film, and everything was inside the park. This is different because it’s hanging over a neighborhood. It’s just disappointing.”

Rob Cerny remembers the moment he heard the screams. He had just exited the Metro B Line across the street from the studio.

“Every minute you hear this big scream,” he said. “When I got home, my wife was upset. It’s made our backyard unusable. It’s extremely prominent, the noise. I really don’t think this is going to be tenable.”

Around the issue of noise, Universal Studios Hollywood has been proactive with Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, devoting a website to just how silent and unobtrusive its groundbreaking coaster would be. Multiple noise mitigation efforts were undertaken — sound walls, scream shields and even pea gravel in the coaster’s tracks.

And those were all welcome, say Garner, Cerny and other residents. All are eager to speak out, but they’re also cautious. They’re aware that some of those who have gone to the press have been attacked on social media, with many a non-Toluca Lake resident appearing unsympathetic to their cause, comparing them to not-in-my-backyard complainers.

Toluca Lake residents are fearful Universal’s Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will be constant noise.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

If you live next to a theme park, goes the primary argument, what did you expect?

“That’s a good point,” said Cerny, who has resided next to Universal Studios for 30 years, around the time the park was opening what is now known as Jurassic World: The Ride, but long before additions such as the “Harry Potter” franchise or Nintendo.

“This was not Magic Mountain,” Cerny continued. “I grew up here. It was a studio tour place. Now it’s a major thrill theme park. That’s a different deal.”

And it’s not, he said, background noise, such as the barely audible soundtrack from Wizarding World. “It’s screams,” he said. “Screaming is a disturbing noise. It’s not a lullaby.”

Universal says it’s listening.

“We appreciate hearing from the community, and that feedback is an important part of the process,” reads a statement from Universal Studios Hollywood. “The coaster is currently in its testing and commissioning phase, which is designed to evaluate the attraction over time and under a variety of operating conditions. As part of that process, we are actively reviewing sound levels to ensure the coaster is operating in compliance.”

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift has been about a decade in the making. It’s a feat of engineering, situated on a hill between the park’s upper and lower lots, extending out toward Lankershim Boulevard. Universal has its own interest in limiting noise from the ride, beyond being a polite neighbor, as it is still a working studio.

The theme park has made outreach into the neighborhood over the years in an attempt to assuage concerns, be it distributing fliers or attending community meetings. And many a Toluca Lake resident enjoys some theme park perks courtesy of Universal, such as free parking, and invites to pre-opening events at the park. Garner still speaks fondly of getting on Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge before the bulk of the public.

“We all went to meetings about it,” Rogers said of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift. “Universal says they want to be a good neighbor. They made a big deal about making it the quietest coaster ever. Well, that’s nice, but you can’t put tape over people’s mouths.”

While residents say the screaming is crushingly loud, there’s no indication as of yet the ride violates any county standards. The path for the coaster was cleared with 2013’s Universal Studios Specific Plan. Presented to and approved by the County of Los Angeles, the documents outline studio, theme park and hotel expansion plans, detailing requirements such as as height, noise and more. While nothing in the papers explicitly previewed any potential ride specifics, such as a 72 mph coaster with 360 degree rotating cars, county officials note there was also nothing in the pitch for Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift that would violate terms of the plan.

Thus, say county officials, there was no requirement for Universal to hold public hearings to be granted approval to build the coaster. That’s left some residents feeling slighted, saying they were unaware of the attraction until ground was moved.

Universal Studio Hollywood’s Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will reach speeds of 72 mph and take riders on multiple inversions.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

It should be noted, however, that before construction began, Universal Studios did place speakers on its old special effects and stunt buildings to see how noise traveled down the hill. And as per the documents, Universal Studios Hollywood must track noise at six designated monitoring sites outside and around the park. At least three are in the heart of Toluca Lake, situated on or near Valley Springs Lane.

Residents are also given a number to call for complaints such as a noise. Zito has been in touch with park technicians near his home, noting they are sitting with microphones and equipment to capture sonic readings. “I always go up to them and say, ‘You’re not here when it’s really noisy,’” he said. Another resident spoke of downloading a smartphone app to track decibel levels throughout the day, intending to document the noise of the coaster screams and report any violations.

Allowable decibel levels in the neighborhood vary depending on the time of day, as well as the type of noise. Operational sound, such as those from an attraction, are classified differently than “impulsive noise,” such as a gunshot from a film production. A scream, said county officials, is considered operational noise, and decibel levels should hover somewhere around 50 dBa during peak hours.

Most decibel charts consider that moderate noise, somewhere between steady rainfall and a dishwasher. Over the years Universal has been required to make alterations to its attractions, such as replacing some live special effects in its “Waterworld” show with prerecorded digital tracks.

The office of county supervisor Kathryn Barger is aware of the complaints of Toluca Lake residents. Her staff has been facilitating a conversation with people at Universal Studios and has found them to be “very willing partners,” said Helen Chavez Garcia, Barger’s communications director. “They are very interested in finding common ground to address the community concerns, while also meeting their bigger objectives of bringing a new attraction to keep their theme park thriving. They’ve been good partners at the table and this is going to be a continued work in progress.”

With the coaster slated to open in the coming days or weeks, residents aren’t optimistic for change or the sudden construction of more noise buffers. Rogers, for instance, said her and husband have begun shopping for water fountains, wondering if installing them in their backyard will mask the screams. Coaster fan Garner, however, said the only recourse may be to find a way to live with — and enjoy — the ride.

“I’m dying to get on it,” he said. “I’m sure it’s going to be something to experience and I’m sure it’s going to be great.”

Then he pauses for a moment. “But I don’t want to have to listen to it all day and into the night.”

Wrapped in a black cloth stained with her own blood, a three-month-old baby in a light green shirt was lowered into a grave beside eight other members of her family. They had all been killed in an overnight attack on Kum, a village in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, in North Central Nigeria.

Residents said the attack began at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, and continued into the early hours of Sunday, July 12. By the time the attackers left, nine members of one family were dead, and the community head, Pam Yohanna, was critically injured.

Pam and his family were fast asleep when a loud bang jolted them awake. It did not sound like a knock, but like someone trying to force the door open. “The door was strong, so they couldn’t break in,” a resident, who declined to give his name, said.

Unable to force the door open, the attackers smashed a window and fired into the darkness, striking Yohanna. His screams for help alerted other residents of Kum village. Residents alleged that the attackers had blended into the area during the day by posing as herders before launching the attack at night.

The attackers then moved to the neighbouring compound, which was Pam’s larger family house. Unlike Yohanna’s house, the doors there could not withstand the assault, and the attackers forced their way inside. “They wiped the entire family,” the resident said.

When residents entered the compound after the incident, they found the corpses and sleeping spaces – mattresses, walls, and mosquito nets – soaked with blood, revealing where members of the household had been attacked while they slept.

Nine members of the family were killed. They were identified as Celina James, 38; James Yohanna, 21; Janet Yohanna, 18; Baby Jennifer Yohanna, three months; Sele James, 18; Melody James, 16; Reto James, 10; Endurance James, 8; and Peace James, 3. James and Janet had recently married and were the parents of the baby, Jennifer. Their daughter was buried alongside them and the other members of their family who were killed.

The family lived on the outskirts of the community, behind the Riyom Local Government Council Secretariat, and not far from a base of Operation Enduring Peace, a joint military task force in the region. The community is also located along the Jos–Kaduna–Akwanga highway.

Pam, who is also the community head, sustained life-threatening injuries and is receiving treatment in hospital.

“This is not the first time we are experiencing such an attack,” the youth leader said.

The attack, residents said, did not come entirely without warning. In the days leading up to it, residents had received intelligence about groups of people moving into the area with cattle. Rwang Tengwong, spokesperson for the Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM), said he believes some of those moving into the area had been displaced from neighbouring Barkin Ladi and Bokkos local government areas following recent security operations by the Department of State Services and other security agencies.

Residents also raised concerns about the presence of drones during attacks in the area. Chollom Dung, the community leader of Kum, said drones were often seen flying overhead during such incidents, but residents did not know who was operating them. “We don’t know who flies them,” Dung said. “We are not safe.”

Rwang said the attackers came from neighbouring Fass and Mahanga communities, areas he described as having previously been inhabited by indigenous residents before they were displaced in 2004 and 2012. In 2025, the Plateau State Government said that at least 64 communities in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Riyom local government areas had been forcibly displaced and taken over by criminal groups.

“They have been taken over, renamed, and people are living there conveniently on lands they pushed people away from to occupy,” Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang said.

Several residents and community leaders who spoke to HumAngle described the attack as “unprovoked” rather than a reprisal or communal clash, as such incidents are often labelled. “We have not had any issue of cattle rustling in this community,” Rwang said. “…As a youth association, when we notice criminal elements, even if they are from our communities, we hand them over to the authorities, because if we shield them, they will terrorise us tomorrow.”

More than 48 hours after the attack, no official statement had been issued by the Plateau State Government or the Plateau State Police Command. “We have lost hope in the government,” the youth leader said.

At the time of reporting, residents said there was no permanent security presence in the community. Police officers and soldiers visited briefly on Sunday morning, a day after the attack, before leaving. No arrests had been made.

The attack came despite repeated assurances from government officials, including President Bola Tinubu, that efforts would be intensified to end the killings and restore security in Plateau State. However, for residents of communities such as Kum, the continued violence has deepened frustration and raised questions about the effectiveness of those measures.

“There is no way that we have a big security base nearby and attacks happen and no one attempts to stop them,” said Dalyop Mwantiri, BYM’s chairperson. “We are calling for accountability, justice; we are calling for security to step up.”

For residents of Plateau, the concern over delayed security response is not new. In April 2025, after a similar attack in Zike, in Bassa Local Government Area, HumAngle visited residents who complained about the lack of response from security operatives despite a nearby military base.

The graves in Kum are among the newest markers of a season of relentless bloodshed across Plateau State. Data compiled by the Berom Youth Moulders Association shows that at least 121 people were killed in attacks across several communities between May and July 11, 2026. The killings cut across Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Bassa, Jos South, Pankshin, and other local government areas, with 62 deaths recorded in May, 43 in June, and another 16 in the first 11 days of July alone. HumAngle verified some of the incidents by comparing the records with media reports of individual attacks.

Competing accounts in Benue State

The violence was not confined to Plateau. While residents of Kum in Riyom were still coming to terms with the aftermath of Saturday night’s attack, two communities – Akpachi-Ogbuju village and Otukpo-Nobi, both in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State – came under attack on the same night, with violence reported on the evening of Saturday, July 11, and into the early hours of Sunday, July 12.

In Otukpo-Nobi, armed attackers struck members of the Inalegwu family at about 5:00 a.m., according to Eric Amodu, a resident who spoke to HumAngle from the Accident and Emergency Ward of the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Otukpo.

“Six of them were attacked,” he said, adding that the mother died while the five others sustained varying degrees of injuries. Two of them were in critical condition at the Accident and Emergency Ward of the teaching hospital.

The Benue State Police Command confirmed that eight people were killed in the attack, while residents and local sources who spoke to HumAngle reported a higher toll. 

Eric said security operatives arrived in the community hours after the attack. “This is not the first time this community has been attacked,” he said. “It is not the second, third, or fourth. It is probably the fifth.”

Similar to residents in Kum, Plateau State, residents of Otukpo-Nobi said they had raised concerns with security agencies before the attack. Simeon Ikulonu, a youth leader in the community, said residents noticed unusual movements on the Monday before the attack and reported their concerns to security officials. They returned on Thursday to inform them that the suspicious presence had continued.

The attack has since triggered competing accounts about its cause and those responsible. In a statement, Tersoo Kula, Chief Press Secretary to the Benue State Governor, described the attackers as “armed herders”.

Eric, who was conducting ward rounds at the teaching hospital during the interview with HumAngle, said one of the survivors told him that one of the attackers she saw was a woman. HumAngle could not independently verify the claim.

Cletus Nwadiogbu, the Benue State Police Commissioner, described the incident as a “terrorist attack” and said the attackers used guerrilla tactics, striking communities before retreating into nearby forests. “They operate in the guerrilla warfare style. Once they attack, they immediately disappear into the woods, making it difficult to apprehend them,” he said.

Several reports have linked the attack to the killing of Ardo Risku Muhammad, the Benue State chairperson of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), an umbrella organisation representing cattle breeders in the country. However, Eric disputed the suggestion that the violence was only connected to that incident. “Even the route he was attacked on is a no-go route. You can’t go there without security,” he said.

Ardo was ambushed and killed on June 26 on a highway in Otukpo Local Government Area while returning from a peace meeting in nearby Ohimini Local Government Area.

The police have since arrested local leaders in the area as suspects linked to Ardo’s death.

MACBAN has also rejected suggestions linking its members to the attack. Ibrahim Galma, the state secretary of the association, said conclusions should not be drawn before investigations were completed. “Making such conclusions at this stage will only compromise the ongoing investigation being carried out by the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies,” he said. He added that “Fulani residents” in Otukpo and surrounding areas had previously been displaced from the area.

Following the attack, residents protested, demanding greater protection from security agencies.

Benue has experienced repeated attacks on rural communities in recent years, contributing to widespread displacement across the state. A recent HumAngle investigation documented how several communities have been deserted after repeated assaults, with hundreds of thousands of people forced into displacement camps or temporary shelters.

“The attackers keep attacking, and people flee, and they take over, and it continues,” Eric said, echoing concerns raised by residents in Plateau State.

Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia described the attack as a “barbaric and inhuman assault on the sanctity of life and the collective soul of the people”.

“We will not allow our communities to be turned into battlefields,” he said.

Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have called on Nigerian authorities to conduct an independent, impartial, and effective investigation into the attack on Otukpo-Nobi and Akpachi-Ugboju. The organisation said the violence had deepened fear and panic across Otukpo Local Government Area and urged the government to fulfil its responsibility to protect lives and property.

“The protests by youths in the aftermath of the attack show that people have had enough and seek an end to frequent attacks and abductions that have made life a hell in many parts of Benue State,” Amnesty International said.

The organisation also called for urgent measures to protect rural communities and hold suspected perpetrators accountable, warning that repeated attacks across the region have contributed to widespread displacement and a growing humanitarian crisis.

Christina Boyd on Coronation Street could face an uncertain future on the ITV soap, as her shocking secret has finally been exposed to several Weatherfield residents

Christina in Coronation Street may need to watch out, after making an enemy of two characters.

Her secret was finally exposed during Friday’s episode, after weeks of shifty behaviour. There’s been mystery meet-ups, secret messages and cryptic phone calls.

George Shuttleworth feared his partner might be cheating on him, while his sister Glenda Shuttleworth told him that Christina was conning him and others. She’d found some credit card statements in Christina’s handbag.

In a twist though, they were not cards that belonged to her. Christina had taken out credit cards in the names of Mary Taylor and Christina’s ex-husband Lenny.

On Friday, George prepared to confront his partner, while he also followed her, after she claimed she had to pop out again. When George tracked her down he saw her with a man, and demanded answers.

Christina explained that the man was Lenny, her ex, and Lenny had found out that Christina had taken out a credit card in his name. Lenny found this out on the night that Theo Silverton died, and this is why Christina lied about her alibi, because she was meeting with Lenny.

It was Lenny she had been messaging too. That’s not all though, as Christina confessed she’d also got a credit card in Glenda’s name. George demanded answers and Christina finally confessed to the credit cards, before explaining she had a spending addiction.

George was unsympathetic at first, as Christina claimed it was “a disease”. As she detailed the addiction and the impact it had on her life, she revealed that Lenny had asked her to go a support group.

Christina confirmed she had attended the meetings before, as the addiction was something she had battled previously before managing to overcome it. Recent stress led to a relapse, she claimed, with her spending so much money, she felt she had no alternative but to get credit cards to continue her sprees.

Christina begged George not to leave her, and he attended the meeting with her where she explained her addiction further. George encouraged Christina to take ownership as he vowed to stand by her.

But other characters were not so forgiving. Glenda blurted out to Todd Grimshaw and Mary that Christina was a scammer, before she exposed what Christina had done. Christina then explained the full story, and opened up about her addiction.

As everyone listened, Glenda fumed at George for forgiving Christina, before making it clear she did not buy her story. She tried to get the others to agree, but Mary was trying to process it all.

Then, Mary told Christina that she would not take legal action against her, as Christina vowed to fix things. Mary did say Christina had broken her trust however, and that she did not accept her apology.

So with Mary and Glenda refusing to forgive her, and Glenda not saying she would not call the police, does this mean Christina could face legal action? Could it also force her to leave the cobbles for good after her betrayal, and will George really stand by her?

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Disneyland Resort is rolling out the red carpet for its closest neighbors with a limited-time $71 ticket deal exclusive to Anaheim residents.

The one-day, one-park promotion runs from July 20 through October 8, a timeframe that includes Halloween celebrations at Disneyland. Anaheim residents over age 10 can also purchase discounted one-day Park Hopper tickets during this time for $104. Children ages 3 to 9 can get either one-day, one-park tickets or one-day Park Hopper passes for $50. Park reservations are required.

Disneyland has offered deals for Anaheim residents in the past. But this promotion comes less than a week after the theme park announced a limited-time $59 evening ticket offer. Already, that deal has sold out for all dates.

Together, the two promotions highlight the importance of local visitors for Disneyland. Earlier this year, an executive said the theme park’s high volume of California attendees helped mitigate a dip in international tourism. More than 50% of the Anaheim theme park’s audience typically has been from California.

The Burbank media and entertainment company previously signaled that it would pivot its marketing and promotional efforts toward domestic visitors as it monitored the headwinds affecting international attendance.

In May, Disney executives said its U.S. theme parks had a 1% drop in attendance compared with the previous year, which the company attributed to “continued softness” in international visitors. However, during a second-quarter earnings call, Disney leaders said the park was starting to move past those headwinds.

June 26 (UPI) — The National Weather Service on Friday evening issued its first Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning in the history of Salt Lake City, Utah, based on concerns about rapid growth of wildfires in the state.

NWS issued warnings for an area in southwest Utah that it considers to be in significant danger based on ongoing wildfires and weather conditions, the agency said in a series of posts on X.

NWS has predicted low humidity levels — less than 10% — and wind gusts of at least 50 miles per hour, which could help to grow the Cottonwood Fire, which has already burned nearly 72,000 acres, KSL-TV reported.

The fire started Monday near Beaver, Utah, before spreading to cover more than 70,000 acres as gusty winds and dry conditions helped the flames to spread, NBC News reported.

“This is the first formal PDS Red Flag Warning we’ve issued since it was formalized by NWS,” the agency said in a post on X.

“This is the first time we’ve reached the Weather Risk Outlook level of ‘Extreme,'” NWS said of the language it has not used in a notification since 2021. “In short, this combinaton of high winds, low humidity, very dry fuels and a large fire is a rare and dangerous situation!”

Utah this year experienced its lowest-ever snowpack and a heatwave that started in March prompted Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to sign an executive order limiting fireworks celebrations throughout the state through July 5.

Utah meteorologist Jason Stroud told The Washington Post that the warning, which has been in place for the last few days, that the danger from fires in the area could be devastating and potentially life-threatening.

“This shows that the combination of weather effects that are coming in the next 48 hours are extremely concerning,” Stroud said, reiterating that the fact that Salt Lake City’s NWS office has never issued the type of warning that is currently in effect.

Residents in Tel Aviv voiced mixed reactions after Israel and Iran said they would halt strikes following a day of missile exchanges. While some wanted a stronger response against Iran, others said Israelis were ‘losing’, citing disruptions to daily life, schools and tourism.

ANGRY Sicilian locals hit out at Dua Lipa after two city piazzas were cordoned off for the singer’s wedding bash this weekend.

On Thursday cops tore down posters protesting “Palermo is not for rent” and “Our square is not your living room”.

But yesterday morning graffiti had also appeared on walls in the picturesque Piazza Croce dei Vespri.

The square and adjoining Piazza Sant’Anna have been sealed off for the first of three days of celebrations as One Kiss star Dua, 30, and actor Callum Turner, 36, mark their nuptials.

They officially married in London last weekend before flying to Italy this week.

Guests including singer Charli XCX and music producer Mark Ronson were in Palermo for drinks last night.

LIPA LUXURY

Dua Lipa & Callum Turner soak up the sun at £6k-a-night hotel ahead of big bash

MR RIGHT

I have seen what Callum Turner is REALLY like up close – it truly surprised me

Yesterday, it emerged Dua has paid £5,000 to residents.

The gesture is understood to compensate locals whose apartments overlook the area for parking problems.

But a marble column in the centre had last night not been cleaned of old foul-mouthed graffiti complaining of an unpaid debt.

A source said: “It doesn’t really match the idyllic love story vibe that Dua seems to be going for.”

Dua, Callum and guests have been staying at the five star Villa Igiea hotel overlooking Palermo’s marina.

The couple got a huge cheer and applause as they arrived at their party last night, with Dua dazzling in a halterneck backless dress.

Callum wore a casual suit and could not resist giving his new wife a cheeky squeeze of her bum, left.

The square was decked out with classic Italian cars and an outdoor cocktail bar.

Earlier, police moved on locals in Piazza Sant’Anna.

One resident said of the cops’ action: “It all seems a bit over the top.

“We just wanted to see Dua Lipa and wish her well.”

As the voters deliver their ballots to neighborhood drop-off sites and others wait to vote in person Tuesday, Times reporters fanned out across the city to ask residents whom they planned to support for mayor.

Here is a sample of what voters said about their preferred candidate.

‘The other choices were not worth my vote’

Steven Travers
57
Glassell Park
Self-employed

Voter Steven Travers told The Times that he didn’t feel like there were many options for him in the mayoral election this year, except for the incumbent Karen Bass.

Shopping at Vons in Echo Park, Travers said, “Just what I’ve seen of her, and you know, the way she speaks, she seems to be OK.”

“I guess she’s done an OK job since she’s been the mayor,” Travers said. “The people she’s running against, I mean, there’s really nobody else that I think I would want to be in that position.”

This decision to vote for Bass, despite the wide field of options, came down to how she had handled homelessness in the city and Travers’ neighborhood of Glassell Park, where there had been homelessness issues “for a period of time.”

The issue, Travers said, has been lessened and “certain areas things are getting a little bit cleaned up. And I’m assuming that she’s, you know, part of that whole thing.”

Travers also said that “anybody involved in politics in Los Angeles” seems to always talk about homelessness “more than anything else” and that Bass “seems to be trying to maybe do something about it.”

Simply put, “The other choices were not worth my vote,” Travers said.

Looking for a more humane L.A.

Zorah Archie-Winston
22
View Park
Recent USC graduate

Zorah Archie-Winston said that she’s probably voting for Nithya Raman for mayor.

“If I had to choose, like, right now, I think I’m leaning more towards Raman,” Archie-Winston said.

One of the main reasons for that, she said, is Raman’s personality and the humanity she brings to the table.

The 22-year-old View Park resident said that the unhoused population is something she feels very passionately about, and she believes Raman shares that.

“We could have, like, a lot more of a compassionate view on the unhoused population and those adjacent,” Archie-Winston said.

She said she’s been following along with Raman’s journey on the L.A. City Council and looks forward to seeing what the candidate could do as mayor, especially for tenancy rights.

“I think there are a lot of resources and things that are really inaccessible to those who are struggling to live in L.A. for one reason or another, and I think that’s something Raman will be able to help with,” Archie-Winston said.

‘He might be our only saving grace’

Ann Raljevich
66
Westchester
Medical biller

Ann Raljevich, a 66-year-old medical biller, says Spencer Pratt could be the city’s hero in the mayoral race.

“I think he might be our only saving grace,” said Raljevich, of Westchester.

Under the city’s current leadership, Raljevich tells The Times, she said she hasn’t seen change in the city. She said she still sees the same unkempt streets, drug addicts around town and high sales taxes.

“Being in the medical field — the drugs bring on the schizophrenia and bring on all the other things, and I mean, I see it when I drive in and out of town,” Raljevich said. “I see it everywhere.”

Raljevich said she also admired that Pratt was from Southern California and graduated from USC.

She said the fact that he hasn’t directly declared a political party affiliation shows that he doesn’t care what people think and is just here to do the job.

“He never really came out to say whether he’s a Republican or a Democrat,” Raljevich said. “He’s just for the people.”

As Cuba heads into another month of blackouts due to the near-total fuel blockade imposed by the US, many say their lives now revolve around these power outages.

For Ana Rosa Romero, a 70-year-old widow living in a high-rise building, the constant power cuts have transformed her daily life.

BBC’s Will Grant spoke to her about the impact of the blackouts.

Video edited by Blanca Estrada

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with drones and missiles early on Thursday, officials said, damaging several buildings, including one which partially collapsed with residents likely trapped under rubble.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Four Memphis residents are suing U.S. and Tennessee officials, saying they have been harassed, arrested and physically mistreated for engaging in First Amendment protected activities by observing and recording law enforcement agents in their city.

A lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court targets the Memphis Safe Task Force, comprising agents from 13 federal agencies that President Trump ordered to the city to fight crime alongside Tennessee State Troopers and the Tennessee National Guard.

Since late September, hundreds of federal, state and local law enforcement personnel tied to the task force have made traffic stops, served warrants and searched for fugitives in the majority Black city of about 610,000 people. The lawsuit says the task force has conducted over 120,000 traffic stops.

“In the professed name of crime control, Task Force agents have stopped, menaced, and arrested Memphians engaging in routine, day-to-day activities,” the lawsuit states. “In response, Memphians encountering Task Force agents in public, including Plaintiffs, have stopped to gather information about and record Task Force activities.”

Emails from the Associated Press to the U.S. Department of Justice and a spokesperson for the task force were not returned on Wednesday morning.

Federal officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, former Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, have visited Memphis to praise the task force. Miller in October predicted the surge in law enforcement would make the city “safer than any of you could ever possibly imagine” and that “businesses and investment are going to pour in, and Memphis will be richer than ever before.”

The task force is part of a larger effort by Trump to use National Guard troops and surge federal law enforcement in cities, particularly ones controlled by Democrats. Following troop deployments in the District of Columbia and Los Angeles, he referred to Portland, Ore., as “war-ravaged” and threatened apocalyptic force in Chicago. Speaking last year to U.S. military leaders in Virginia, Trump proposed using cities as training grounds for the armed forces.

The lawsuit accuses task force agents of systematically retaliating against the four plaintiffs and other members of the public engaged in similar observations. It claims the threats and harassment are the “direct result of federal policy” that views observing federal agents performing their duties in public as a threat of harm to those agents. The lawsuit also claims that federal and state officials have failed to train their agents not to retaliate against citizens engaged in First Amendment protected activities.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that retaliation against the plaintiffs for observing and recording law enforcement activity is unconstitutional and to prohibit the agents from further retaliation. It also targets a Tennessee law that requires observers to stand at least 25 feet away from law enforcement officers, if they are warned to do so, or face arrest. The suit asks the court to declare unconstitutional the use of the “Halo Law” against defendants who are not interfering with agents or impeding their duties.

Loller writes for the Associated Press.

A UNUSUAL temporary ban is being rolled out in days at a popular vacation hotspot.

The law will impact all residents, tourists, and even cruise lines.

Alcohol sales will be completely banned across all islands in the Bahamas due to the general election, officials have confirmed.

Polls open on May 12 and between the hours of 8am and 6pm, no alcohol will be available for purchase, per a government notice.

This includes even on private islands that are owned by cruise lines.

Royal Caribbean said it will be abiding by the local laws at Coco Cay, it’s private island in the Bahamas.

“Royal Caribbean is respecting and complying with all local laws and regulations, as we do with every destination we visit,” a Royal Caribbean spokesperson told PEOPLE.

Both the Wonder of the Seas and the Oasis of the Seas ships will be visiting the island on that day.

It’s beach bars Perfect Day and Royal Beach Club Paradise Island will still be open, the cruise line confirmed, and noted that passengers will still be able to get alcohol on board the ships.

Despite this, passengers are fuming about the sudden announcement.

“We scheduled a trip with stops in the Bahamas for our 40th anniversary,” one customer wrote on X.

“We are going with 26 of our friends. Planned activities at CocoCay and Nassau.

“The general election has banned all alcohol for the two days we are there. And we find out only two days before we leave? Not a way to treat customers who cruise four times a year.”

Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reports from Al-Shati Refugee Camp, where families search through the rubble after overnight Israeli airstrikes despite a ceasefire. Residents described the attacks as a breach of the truce, saying they lost shelter, belongings and the only places they had left to stay.

Hold everything. Hollywood’s Lexington Park will not be getting a new playground after all, and that’s both good news and bad news.

To explain, let me take you back to April 15, when I tagged along with Sabine Phillips on her weekly three-hour inspection of the neighborhood’s chronic trash problem. Phillips, a housekeeper by trade, was hired by one of her clients a few years ago to help clean up their streets.

So each Wednesday, Phillips went out on her yellow Huffy cruiser and routinely logged 50 or more illegally dumped items and reported them to the city’s 311 system for pickup. And each Saturday, she filled up to four or five big bags with smaller bits and scraps of debris.

Near the end of my three hours with Phillips, who got help that day from volunteer Keith Johnson, we visited the Lexington pocket park. There were no kids there, and there never are, Phillips said. That’s because of the glass and needles in the sand, drug activity, sporadic violence, gang tags on the slide and homeless camps.

A guy from the Recreation and Parks Department showed up and said the park was in line for a possible upgrade that could cost as much as $300,000. In my April 18 column, I questioned the wisdom of investing in a playground that would remain unsafe unless there was a plan to address all the aforementioned issues.

Nick Barnes-Batista, communications director for L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, wrote to tell me his office was unaware of any playground projects planned for that park.

A spokesperson for Recreation and Parks told me that despite what was said by the employee I met in the park, there is no “immediate playground replacement project on the books.” But the department is “working closely” with the councilman’s office “to identify funding sources and to work with the community on broader park improvements and/or uses.”

OK, so it’s good news that taxpayer funds won’t be plowed into a park that could well be lost to the neighborhood almost immediately, due to all the aforementioned problems.

But it’s bad news and sad commentary that a park in the densely populated heart of the city will remain unusable for the foreseeable future.

The more important consideration, though, is the question of what’s being done to prevent the illegal dumping of furniture, mattresses and other items that sit curbside and often end up as the building blocks of new homeless encampments.

There’s a concentration of social service agencies in the neighborhood, said Stefanie Keenan, a longtime neighborhood volunteer and activist. She’s the one who hired her housekeeper to help look after the neighborhood, and she insists there is not enough enforcement of existing laws to address problems that are both a nuisance and a public safety threat, given the crime and all-too-frequent fires.

A woman pushes her walker past debris in Council District 13 in Los Angeles on Friday.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Soto-Martínez agreed to talk to me about all of this on Friday morning, when he dropped by the Bresee Foundation, a nonprofit with a range of enrichment activities for youngsters and families in the largely low-income immigrant community, as well as homelessness prevention programs. Staff and volunteers, recruited with support from the council office, were about to head into nearby streets with shovels, brooms and trash bags.

Soto-Martínez acknowledged his district’s many challenges, told the gathering that the strength of a community is its people, and thanked them for their service.

The councilman, a former labor leader who joined the growing progressive wing of the L.A. City Council in 2022 with support from the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, has three challengers in the June 2 primary (Colter Carlisle, Dylan Kendall and Rich Sarian). He told me the city has to do a better job of educating people about illegal dumping and how to report it. A related challenge, he said, “is how quickly can we get to it. And that is a budget issue because we’ve cut so many positions on trash pickup.”

Soto-Martínez said his office used discretionary funds to hire two crews from the L.A. Conservation Corps for trash pickup. On homelessness, he said, he has a team strategizing to address the needs, and a medical team that works the streets, and a tiny home village is in the works.

But the housing shortage is a major challenge, he said, and when it comes to entrenched homelessness, “we’re now starting to deal with much more difficult cases.” Namely severe mental illness and serious addiction, both of which generally come under county jurisdiction.

“We created another team that goes out every single day. We door-knock, email and phone-bank people who are at risk of eviction,” Soto-Martínez said, adding that homelessness has declined by 25% during his three years in office.

So what is his message to constituents who say they don’t see enough progress?

“We ask them to give us patience and grace,” he said. “There’s a lot of examples like this, where we’re not just dealing with one thing. We’re dealing with four or five things.”

All of that is true, but the patience he asks for is wearing thin among some constituents.

“We need to find common ground and work together,” Soto-Martínez said. “You know, they see trash as an issue, and they’re doing it their way and we’re doing it our way. But how can we team up and do it together? You know, we’re happy to build those networks out, and under many of the issues they describe, I’m not disagreeing. … We all have the same goal.”

L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez gives a pep talk to volunteers before they leave to clean their neighborhood streets of garbage and debris.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

When Soto-Martínez departed for another appointment, the volunteers took to the streets, filling trash bags. They worked their way up Vermont, and a Bresee employee told me he works the same streets every day, trying to clear a path for “safe passage” as students walk to and from school.

As I said in the earlier column, it’s an inspiration to see people step up for their communities, whether out of pride or frustration. And it’s also reasonable to expect more from City Hall.

I drove over to Western and Sierra Vista, met up with Keenan, and told her about my conversation with Soto-Martínez. She said lax city policies and frequent non-response to citizen pleas for help have created the unsolved problems residents deal with daily. She said city officials have to do a better job of helping homeless people off the streets and preventing further deterioration of neighborhoods.

She was encouraged by a message she got from a representative of Mayor Karen Bass’ office who wants to tour the neighborhood with her.

We walked west on Sierra Vista and came upon a dumped sofa, some cabinets, mattresses, and a man who has been living in a curbside encampment for months. He sat near his belongings, which spilled into the street.

Why hasn’t this been addressed? Keenan wondered aloud. She has decided to stop paying her housekeeper to help address the neighborhood’s needs, and she predicted things will only get worse because of it.

I drove over to the Lexington pocket park, which Soto-Martínez called a priority, among many other priorities. Friday was a holiday — Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. With schools closed, the park would have been a great little neighborhood asset.

But the entrance was closed, with a lock on the gate, and two tarped dwellings were set up against the iron fencing of the empty park.

steve.lopez@latimes.com