Three years ago, FX’s “The Bear” splattered across our screens and made it impossible to look away. The yelling; the cursing; the gravy-slopping, bowl-clattering, grease-slick, jerry-rigged anxious sweaty mess of the Chicago sandwich shop the Beef and the wildly dysfunctional group of people who worked there, including elite chef Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), who inherited the Beef from his dead-by-suicide beloved brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal), wowed critics and raised the culture’s collective cortisol count to eye-twitching levels.
Critics used terms like “stress bomb” and “adrenaline shot”; current and former restaurant workers described symptoms not unlike those of PTSD, and viewers ate it all up with a spoon.
Season 2, in which Carmy follows through on his plan to turn the Beef into a fine-dining establishment, only increased the anxiety level. With real money on the table (courtesy of Carmy’s uncle Jimmy, played by Oliver Platt), along with the hopes, dreams and professional futures of the staff, including Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Marcus (Lionel Boyce), Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), Sugar (Abby Elliott) and, of course, Cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), stakes were cranked to do-or-die.
When the episode “Fishes,” a stomach-clenching holiday buffet of trauma, revealed the twisted roots of a family forged by alcoholism — Carmy’s mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) — and abandonment — Carmy’s father — viewers could not get enough.
This being television, we knew that all the wild dysfunction would inevitably coalesce into triumph — you cannot achieve greatness without driving yourself and everyone else crazy first, right? When, at the end of Season 2, the Bear somehow managed to have a successful opening night, despite Carmy locking himself in a refrigerator and having a full-on existential crisis, our deep attachment to “yes chef” pandemonium appeared vindicated. Fistfuls of Emmys and dopamine cocktails all around.
Except being able to open is a rather low bar for success, even in the restaurant business. Carmy is, for all his talent, an utter mess, and creator Christopher Storer is not, as it turns out, interested in celebrating the time-honored, and frankly toxic, notion that madness is a necessary part of genius — to the apparent dismay of many viewers.
When, in Season 3, Storer and his writers opted to slow things down a bit, to pull each character aside and unsnarl the welter of emotions that fueled the Bear’s kitchen, some viewers were disappointed. Which, having become dependent on the show’s stress-bomb energy, they expressed with outrage. “The Bear” had lost its edge, was getting dull, boring, repetitive and reliant on stunt-casting; it should have ended with Season 2 or, better yet, become a movie.
Thus far, the reaction to Season 4 has run the gamut — where some condemn what they consider continuing stagnation, others cheer a return to form. Which is kind of hilarious as this opens with the staff of the Bear reeling from an equally mixed review of the restaurant from the Chicago Tribune. (Shout out to the notion that a newspaper review still has make-or-break influence, though the Bear’s lack of a social media awareness has long been worrisome).
Season 4 of “The Bear” starts with the restaurant’s crew reaction to the Chicago Tribune review and how it will affect the restaurant. “They didn’t like the chaos,” Sydney says.
(FX)
Turns out that Carmy’s obsessive determination to change the menu daily, and keep his staff on perpetual tenterhooks, was perceived as disruptive, but not in a good way.
“They didn’t like the vibe,” he tells Syd in a morning-after debrief. “They didn’t like the chaos,” she replies. “You think I like chaos?” he asks. “I think you think you need it to be talented,” she says, adding, “You would be just as good, you would be great … without this need for, like, mess.”
Coming early in Episode 1, Syd’s message is a bit on the nose, but addiction does not respond to subtlety, and “The Bear” is, as I have written before, all about the perils and long-range damage of addiction. That includes Donna’s to alcohol, Mikey’s to painkillers, Carmy’s to a self-flagellating notion of perfection and, perhaps, the modern TV audience’s to cortisol.
As Season 4 plays out, with its emphasis on introspection and real connection, viewers might consider why “addictive” has become the highest form of compliment in television.
It’s such a sneaky bastard, addiction, happy to hijack your brain chemistry in any way it can. Our collective attention span isn’t what it used to be and the adrenaline rush unleashed by crisis, real or observed, can create a desire to keep replicating it. Even on broadcast and cable television, most dysfunctional family series take a one-step-forward-two-steps-back approach to their characters’ emotional growth. The mess is what viewers come for, after all.
Particularly in comedy, we want to see our characters get into jams for the pleasure of watching them wildly flail about trying to get out of them. Early seasons of “The Bear” took that desire to a whole new level.
But having amped up the craziness and the stakes, Storer now appears to be more interested in exploring why so many people believe that an ever-roiling crucible is necessary to achieve greatness. And he is willing to dismantle some of the very things that made his show a big hit to do it.
Frankly, that’s as edgy as it gets, especially in streaming, which increasingly uses episodic cliffhangers to speed up a series’ completion rate — nothing fuels a binge watch like a jacked up heart rate.
Like Carmy, Storer doesn’t appear content with resting on his laurels; he’s willing to take counterintuitive risks. As an attempt to actually show both the necessity and difficulty of recovery, in a micro- and meta- sense, “The Bear” is an experiment that defies comparison.
At the beginning of this season, Uncle Jimmy puts a literal clock on how long the Bear has before, short of a miracle, he will have to pull the plug. Carmy, still addicted to drama, claims they will still get a Michelin star, despite evidence to the contrary, which will solve everything. (Spoiler: A gun introduced in the first act must go off in the third is one of many tropes “The Bear” upends.)
The rest of the staff, mercifully, takes a more pragmatic approach. Richie, having become the unexpected sensei of the Bear (and the show), does the most sensible thing — he asks for help from the crackerjack staff of chef Terry’s (Olivia Colman) now defunct Ever. Watching chef Jessica (Sarah Ramos) whip the nightly schedule into shape only underlines the absurdity, and damage, of the auteur theory of anything — greatness is never a solitary achievement.
As Carmy loosens his grip, other outsiders pitch in — Luca (Will Poulter) shows up from Copenhagen to help Marcus and also winds up aiding Tina; Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) drafts an actual mentor (played by Rob Reiner) to help him figure out how he can grow the Beef sandwich window and Sweeps (Corey Hendrix) finds his own in another sommelier (played by retired master Alpana Singh).
Donna (Jaime Lee Curtis) apologizes to Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) for her actions and the harm she caused.
(FX)
Carmy, thank God, not only returns to Al Anon, but he finally visits his mother, which allows a now-sober Donna (in another potentially Emmy-winning performance by Curtis) to admit the harm she has done and try to make amends.
It is, inarguably, a very different show than the one that debuted three years ago, with far fewer cacophonous kitchen scenes, and many more Chicago-appreciating exteriors. When the long-awaited wedding of Richie’s ex, Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), reunites many of the characters from the famous “Fishes” episode, fears about a gathering of Berzattos and Faks prove unfounded. Despite a high-pitched and hilarious spat between Sugar and her ex-bestie Francie Fak (Brie Larson), the event is, instead, a celebration of love and reconciliation and includes what passes for a group therapy session under the table where Richie’s daughter Eva (Annabelle Toomey) has hidden herself. (This scene, which involved all the main characters, was more than a little undermined by said table’s TARDIS-like ability to be “bigger on the inside” and the fact that it held the wedding cake, which did not fall as they all exited, is proof that “The Bear” is not a comedy.)
Not even the digital countdown could generate the sizzling, clanking, sniping roar of chronic, organic anxiety that fueled the first two seasons. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it — I love my adrenaline rush as much as the next person.
But that’s the whole point. Real change doesn’t occur with the speed or the electricity of a lightning bolt; as many addicts discover, it’s about progress, not perfection. Recovery takes time and often feels weird — if you want to have a different sort of life, you need to do things differently.
That’s tough on a hit TV show, as the reactions to Season 3 proved (we’ll see how it fares when Emmy nominations are announced in a few weeks). Few series have made as large a shift in tone and tempo as “The Bear,” but its intentions are clear. To illuminate the necessity, and difficulty, of breaking an addiction to anything, including chaos, you can’t rely on talk; for your life to be different, you have to do things differently.
ADELANTO, Calif. — As federal immigration agents conduct mass raids across Southern California, the Adelanto ICE Processing Center is filling so rapidly it is reigniting longtime concerns about safety conditions inside the facility.
In less than two months, the number of detainees in the sprawling complex about 85 miles northeast of Los Angeles has surged from around 300 near the end of April to more than 1,200 as of Wednesday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
The largest detention center in California, Adelanto has for years been the focus of complaints from detainees, attorneys and state and federal inspectors about inadequate medical care, overly restrictive segregation and lax mental health services.
But now, critics — including some staff who work inside — warn that conditions inside have become increasingly unsafe and unsanitary. The facility, they say, is woefully unprepared to handle a massive increase in the number of detainees.
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“It’s dangerous,” a longtime Adelanto detention center staff member told The Times, speaking on condition of anonymity because they did not want to lose their job. “We have no staffing for this and not enough experienced staff. They’re just cutting way too many corners, and it affects the safety of everybody in there.”
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), toured Adelanto with four other Democratic members of Congress from California amid growing concern over the rapidly increasing number of detainees and deteriorating conditions inside the facility.
The facility’s manager “has to clearly improve its treatment of these detainees,” Chu said at a news conference after inspecting the facility for nearly two hours.
Some detainees told lawmakers they were held inside Adelanto for 10 days without a change of clothes, underwear or towels, Chu said. Others said they had been denied access to a telephone to speak to loved ones and lawyers, even after repeatedly filling out forms.
“I was just really shocked to hear that they couldn’t get a change of underwear, they couldn’t get socks for 10 days,” Chu told The Times. “They can’t get the PIN number for a telephone call. What about their legal rights? What about the ability to be in contact with their families? That is inhumane.”
Immigration Customs and Enforcement and GEO Group, the Florida-based private prison corporation that manages the Adelanto detention center, did not answer The Times’ questions about staffing or conditions inside the facility. The Times also sent questions to Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin, but they were not answered.
Lucero Garcia, third from left, gave an emotional account about her uncle who was taken from his work at an Orange County car wash. She and others were outside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on Tuesday.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Over the last two weeks, new detainees have been forced to sleep on the floors of common areas without blankets and pillows and have spent days in the facility before they were provided with clean clothes and underwear, according to interviews with current detention center staff, immigration attorneys, and members of Congress who toured the facility. Some detainees have complained about lack of access to medication, lack of access to drinking water for four hours, and being served dinner as late as 10 p.m.
One detainee was not allowed his high blood pressure pills when family tried to bring it in, said Jennifer Norris, a staff attorney at Immigrant Defenders Law Center. In some cases, she said, lax medical care has led to emergencies: a Vietnamese man passed out last week because staff didn’t provide him with his necessary medication.
“It’s clear that with the ramp up enforcement, Adelanto just does not have the staff to keep pace with the aggressive enforcement that’s happening now,” Norris said. “It is bizarre. We spend millions of dollars on ICE detention and they’re not even able to provide basic necessities for the new arrivals.”
Long before Trump administration officials announced in May they were setting a new national goal of arresting 3,000 unauthorized immigrants a day, Adelanto workers worried about understaffing and unsafe conditions as the center processed new detainees.
At the end of last year, the facility held only three people. As of Wednesday, the number had swelled to 1,218, according to the ACLU of Southern California.
The climb is only partly due to the ICE agents’ recent escalation of immigrant raids.
The 1,940-bed Adelanto facility has been operating at a dramatically reduced capacity since 2020 when civil rights groups filed a class-action lawsuit demanding a drastic reduction in the number of people detained at Adelanto on the basis that they faced severe risk of contracting COVID-19. A federal judge forced the detention center to release detainees and prohibit new intakes and transfers.
But a series of federal court orders this year — the most recent in early June — has allowed the facility to fully reopen just as federal immigration agents fan out into neighborhoods and workplaces.
“As soon as the judge lifted the order, they just started slamming people in there,” an Adelanto staffer told The Times.
Eva Bitrán, director of immigrant rights at the ACLU of Southern California, said “almost everybody” held in the Adelanto facility had no criminal record before they arrived in the detention center.
“But even if they had a criminal record, even if they had served their time in criminal custody and then been brought to the ICE facility, nobody deserves 10 days in the same underwear,” Bitrán said. “Nobody deserves dirty showers, nobody deserves moldy food.”
The Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Mario Romero, an Indigenous worker from Mexico who was detained June 6 at the Ambiance Apparel warehouse in downtown L.A., was one of dozens who ended up in Adelanto.
His daughter, Yurien Contreras, said she and her family were traumatized after her father was “chained by the hands, feet and waist,” taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown and then “held hostage” in a van from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. with no access to water, food or a restroom.
“Little did we know,” she said, “it was only the beginning of the inhumane treatment our families would endure.”
At Adelanto, she said, officials try to force her father to sign documents without due process or legal representation. The medical care was “less than minimal,” she said, the food was unsustainable and the water tasted like Clorox.
Yurien Contreras’ father was taken by ICE agents from his workplace at Ambiance Apparel in Los Angeles.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Lucero Garcia told The Times she was concerned about her 61-year-old uncle, Candido, who was detained June 9 as he worked at his job at Magnolia Car Wash in Fountain Valley.
But when she visited him Saturday, “he didn’t want to share much,” she said. “He’s worried more about us.”
This is not the first time the Adelanto detention center has faced scrutiny.
In 2018, federal inspectors issued a report finding “serious violations” at the facility, including overly restrictive detainee segregation and guards failing to stop detainees from hanging braided bed sheet “nooses.”
But two staffers who spoke to The Times said they had never experienced such unsafe conditions at Adelanto.
As the prison population has increased over the last few months, they said, staff are working long hours without breaks, some even falling asleep driving home after their shifts and having car accidents. Shift duty officers with no security experience were being asked to make decisions in the middle of the night about whether to put detainees who felt threatened in protective custody. Officers, including people from food service, were being sent to the hospital to check on detainees with tuberculosis and hepatitis.
“Everyone’s just overwhelmed,” a staffer said.
Officers working over their allotted schedules were often tired when they were on duty, another staffer said.
In May, a detainee went into anaphylactic shock and ended up intubated in the hospital, the staffer said, because an officer wasn’t paying attention or was new and gave the detainee, who’s allergic to seafood, a tray that contained tuna.
At a May meeting, the warden told all executive staff that they needed to come to work dressed down on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the staffer said, because they would have to start doing janitorial work.
On June 2, a detainee at the Annex facility made his way from a medical holding area, through four locked doors, all the way back to his dorm unescorted, the staffer said — a major security breach.
“If he would’ve wanted to escape he would’ve been gone,” the staffer said. “All he did is push the buttons to access the doors and they were open for him, no questions. Apparently, whoever was in central control was too tired to check or too inexperienced.”
The detention center was becoming unsanitary, the staffer said, with trash bins not promptly emptied, bathrooms not cleaned and floors not mopped as they should be.
As new waves of detainees flooded into the facility over the last two weeks, the staffer said, the facility was chaotic and lacking basic supplies.
“We didn’t have enough to provide right away,” they said, “so we’re scrambling to get clothes and mattresses.”
Mark Ferretiz, who worked as a cook supervisor at Adelanto for 14 years until April, said former colleagues told him officers were working 16- to 20-hour shifts multiple days in a row without breaks, officers were slow to respond to physical fights between detainees, and food was limited for detainees.
“They had five years to prepare,” Ferretiz, who had served as a union steward, said of his former supervisors. “I don’t know the reason why they weren’t prepared.”
While the supply shortages appeared to ease some in recent days — a shipment of clothes and mattresses had arrived by Tuesday, when members of Congress toured — the detention center was still understaffed, the current staffer said.
Detainees were being served food on paper clam-shell to-go boxes, rather than regular trays, a staffer said, because the facility lacked employees to wash up at the end of mealtimes.
“Trash pickup’s not coming fast enough, ” a staffer said, noting that piles of trash sat outside, bagged up, beside the dumpsters.
In a statement last week, GEO Group Executive Chairman George C. Zoley said fully opening the Adelanto facility would allow his company to generate about $31 million in additional annualized revenues.
“We are proud of our approximately 350 employees at the Adelanto Center, whose dedication and professionalism have allowed GEO to establish a long-standing record of providing high-quality support services on behalf of ICE in the state of California,” Zoley said.
But after touring the facility, members of Congress said officials did not provide answers to basic questions.
When Chu asked officials about whether California immigrants were being taken to other states, she said, they said, “We don’t know.”
That’s a rhetorical question, of course. But it’s one that has a basis in fact because girl power is real.
From Joan of Arc to Cassidy Hutchinson, whenever men have proven too cautious, cowardly or complacent to act, women have had the courage to do the right thing. The latest example of this feminine fearlessness came last Saturday, after federal immigration agents launched a series of raids throughout the Southland targeting everyone from schoolchildren to elderly churchgoers.
Within hours of the first arrests, Angel City, a women’s soccer club, became the first local sports franchise to issue a statement, recognizing the “fear and uncertainty” the raids had provoked. A day later LAFC, Angel City’s roommate at BMO Stadium, released a statement of its own.
That was a week and a half ago. But Angel City didn’t stop there. While the collective silence from the Dodgers, the Galaxy, the Lakers, Kings and other teams has been deafening, Angel City has grown defiant, dressing its players and new coach Alexander Straus in T-shirts that renamed the team “Immigrant City Football Club.” On the back the slogan “Los Angeles Is For Everyone /Los Angeles Es Para Todos” was repeated six times.
“The statement was the beginning,” said Chris Fajardo, Angel City’s vice-president of community. “The statement was our way of making sure that our fans, our players, our staff felt seen in that moment.
“The next piece was, I think, true to Angel City. Not just talking the talk but walking the walk.”
Angel City, the most valuable franchise in women’s sports history, has been walking that walk since it launched five years ago with the help of A-list Hollywood investors, including Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera and Jennifer Garner.
Angel City coach Alexander Straus wears a shirt with the words, “Immigrant City Football Club” before Saturday’s match.
(Jen Flores / Angel City FC)
It has used its riches and its unique platform to provide more than 2.3 million meals and more than 33,000 hours for youth and adult education throughout Southern California; to provide equipment and staff for soccer camps for the children of migrants trapped at the U.S.-Mexico border; and to funnel $4.1 million into other community programs in Los Angeles.
But while much of that has happened quietly, last Saturday’s actions were provocative, boldly and publicly taking place in a city still under siege from thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of U.S. Marines.
“We always talk about how we wanted to build a club that was representative of our community. But we built a club where we are part of the community,” said Julie Uhrman, who co-founded the team she now leads as president.
“In moments like this it’s how do we use our platform to drive attention for what’s happening, to create a sense of community and tell our community that we’re there for them.
“Our supporters wanted to do more,” Uhrman added. “And we wanted to support them.”
Angel City’s Sydney Leroux poses for photo before a match against North Carolina on Saturday.
(Ian Maule / NWSL via Getty Images)
So Fajardo reached out to the team’s staff and supporters. What would that next step look like this time?
“We knew we wanted to do shirts but like, is this the right move?” Fajardo said. “Also, let’s talk about language. It had to resonate and it had to be something they felt was true.
“And so it was through conversation that we landed on the Immigrant City Football Club and everybody belongs in L.A.”
That was late Wednesday afternoon. Fajardo needed more than 10,000 shirts to hand out to players and fans by Saturday morning. That led him to Andrew Leigh, president of Jerry Leigh of California, a family-owned clothing manufacturer based in Los Angeles.
“We wanted to be a part of it,” Leigh said. “These were definitely a priority as we believe in the cause and what Angel City stands for.”
That first run of T-shirts was just the start, though. Leigh’s company has made thousands more for the team to sell on its website, with the net proceeds going to Camino Immigration Services, helping fund what the team feels is a pressing need.
The campaign has resounded with the players, many of whom were drawn to Angel City by the club’s commitment to community service and many of whom see this moment as especially personal.
“My mom’s parents came here from China, and it wasn’t easy for them,” captain Ali Riley told the team website. “They had to find a way to make a life here. My dad is first-generation American. Being from Los Angeles, everything we do, everything we play, everything we eat, this is a city of immigrants.”
“It feels so uncertain right now,” she continued, “but to look around the stadium and see these shirts everywhere, it’s like we’re saying, ‘this is our home, we know who we are, and we know what we believe in.”
It has resonated with the supporters as well.
“It is great that they showed support and put it into action,” said Lauren Stribling, a playwright from Santa Clarita and an Angel City season-ticket holder from the club’s inception. “They really showed an empathy for the community they serve.
Shirts with the words “Los Angeles Is For Everyone” in English and Spanish were handed out to fans before Angel City’s game against North Carolina at BMO Stadium on Saturday.
(Jen Flores / Angel City FC)
“They stand up. It makes me proud of the team and makes me a bigger fan.”
And it makes the Dodgers, the Galaxy and the other Southern California franchises who have remained silent look smaller. On the same night Angel City was stepping up, seven miles away the Dodgers were once again stepping back, warning singer Nezza, the daughter of Dominican immigrants, to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in English, not Spanish.
“I didn’t think I would be met with any sort of like, ‘no,’ especially because we’re in L.A. and with everything happening,” said Nezza, whose real name is Vanessa Hernández. “I just felt like I needed to do it.”
So she sang in Spanish. Of course she sang in Spanish.
⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.
The Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa, closed abruptly Monday as the museum’s staff staged an impromptu strike over large crowds of tourists and understaffing. The museum reopened four hours later. File Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo
June 17 (UPI) — The Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa and other iconic works of art in Paris, closed abruptly Monday as the museum’s staff staged an impromptu strike over a surge of tourists who were left standing in long lines.
Ticket agents, gallery attendants and security refused to return to work, following a morning union meeting, citing overcrowding and understaffing. After four hours of talks with management, the Louvre reopened to confused and tired visitors.
Monday’s strike comes after French President Emmanuel Macronannounced earlier this year that the centuries-old Louvre would undergo renovations to include a separate wing for the Mona Lisa to control crowds better.
The “New Renaissance” project, which will repair and modernize the former royal palace, will take a decade to complete. Ticket prices are slated to go up next year for tourists who do not live in the European Union to help pay for the project.
Last year alone, 8.7 million tourists visited the Louvre with many complaining about insufficient signage, tight spaces and lack of restrooms. The Louvre was originally designed to accommodate 4 million visitors a year.
Louvre President Laurence des Cars, who was appointed in 2021, limited visitors to 30,000 a day after attendance surged in 2018 to more than 10 million. He has warned that parts of the museum are “no longer watertight” and that fluctuating temperatures could damage the priceless artwork.
President Trump got his way Friday, just not on his terms.
Two weeks after Trump said he fired the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery director, Kim Sajet, she stepped down of her own accord.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. This was not an easy decision, but I believe it is the right one,” Sajet wrote in a note to staff shared in an email by the Smithsonian Institution’s leader, Lonnie Bunch. “From the very beginning, my guiding principle has been to put the museum first. Today, I believe that stepping aside is the best way to serve the institution I hold so deeply in my heart. The role of a museum director has never been about one individual — it is a shared mission, driven by the passion, creativity, and dedication of an extraordinary team.”
The news follows Trump’s May 30 post on Truth Social that he was firing Sajet, the first woman to hold her post at the National Portrait Gallery, for being “a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI.”
Trump’s authority to fire Sajet immediately came under question. The Smithsonian is not part of the executive branch, and the president does not choose its Board of Regents. Reports soon surfaced that Sajet continued to show up at work each day.
On Monday the Board of Regents held a lengthy meeting and then issued a statement that said Secretary Bunch had the board’s support “in his authority and management of the Smithsonian.” The statement declared the institution’s full independence, including in personnel decisions. The statement said Bunch had been directed to “articulate specific expectations to museum directors and staff regarding content in Smithsonian museums, give directors reasonable time to make any needed changes to ensure unbiased content, and to report back to the Board on progress and any needed personnel changes based on success or lack thereof in making the needed changes.”
It is unclear if Sajet, who served as the museum’s director for 12 years, made her decision prior to the Board of Regents meeting. The Smithsonian did not respond to a question about that.
“Once again, we thank Kim for her service. Her decision to put the museum first is to be applauded and appreciated,” Bunch wrote in his email to staff. “I know this was not an easy decision. She put the needs of the Institution above her own, and for that we thank her.”
Kevin Gover, the undersecretary for museums and culture, will serve as acting director, Bunch said.
The Smithsonian has a delicate task ahead as it moves forward following Trump’s March 27 executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” It directs Vice President JD Vance to remove “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian’s 21 museums and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and threatens to end federal funding for exhibitions and programs based on racial themes that “divide Americans.”
Bunch’s email to staff stressed that the organization has an imperative to remain nonpartisan.
Los Angeles city officials on Thursday carved out a curfew exemption for ticket holders of indoor events and performing arts venues downtown including the Music Center, paving the way for evening performances of Center Theatre Group’s “Hamlet” and Los Angeles Opera’s “Rigoletto.”
The news comes as Mayor Karen Bass’ 8 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew for the civic center area approaches its third night and arts organizations, restaurants and other businesses across the area report a drop in patrons. On Wednesday, Center Theatre Group canceled a second night of director Robert O’Hara’s world-premiere adaptation of “Hamlet” at a cost of roughly $35,000 in ticket sales per night. That’s in addition to what the company is spending on production expenses.
“At this time, Center Theatre Group, the Music Center, and the surrounding streets have not been directly impacted by protest or law enforcement activity. Our staff and artists are already on site, and we look forward to seeing you,” CTG wrote in a statement Thursday.
Major protests are planned nationwide for Saturday, when Trump’s 79th birthday coincides with the massive 250th anniversary military parade he is throwing in Washington, D.C., at a reported cost of $45 million.
One of the so-called “No Kings” protests is scheduled to take place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of City Hall, prompting Center Theatre Group to cancel its Saturday matinee and evening performances of “Hamlet.” Other events scheduled for that day and night have been been postponed, including a show by the rock band Ozomatli that’s part of the Grand Performances series at California Plaza, and a Metro Art event called Bollywood Express at Union Station.
The Broad museum, adjacent to the Music Center, said it will close all weekend. “The safety and well-being of our visitors and staff continues to be our highest priority,” the museum said in a statement.
L.A. Opera, however, issued a mid-afternoon news release announcing the curfew exemption and noting that “Rigoletto,” scheduled to run from 7:30 p.m. to about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, would go on as planned. The company also is moving forward with its Saturday “Renée Fleming and Friends” concert, scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
“Attendees will need to leave the theater immediately afterward without lingering on the Music Center campus,” the release said, adding that guests may need to prove their attendance at the show if stopped by law enforcement. “All ticket holders should have their tickets with them while in the area, either printed, digital or as a screen shot of the ticket.”
The release also says that people should avoid driving through downtown from the south, where much of the military activity is centered.
A representative for L.A. Opera acknowledged that given the circumstances, ticket holders may choose not to show up. They will be allowed to exchange their tickets for one of the remaining performances June 15, 18 or 21; or they can request a refund from the box office.
California Sen. Alex Padilla was handcuffed by federal agents Thursday after he interrupted a press conference held by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Los Angeles.
About five minutes into a press conference at the Westwood federal building, Noem told the media that the Trump administration planned to “liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that the governor and the mayor have placed on this country.”
Padilla, who was standing near a wall on one side of the room, then tried to interrupt Noem to ask a question, video footage shows. Cameras turned toward him as two Secret Service agents tried to push him backward, one saying: “Sir, sir, hands up.”
“I’m Senator Alex Padilla,” he said, as one agent grabbed his jacket and shoved him backward on the chest and arm. “I have questions for the secretary, because the fact of the matter is that half a dozen violent criminals that you’re rotating on your — on your …”
“Hands off!” Padilla said, as three agents pushed him into a separate room.
Padilla, a Democrat who was raised by Mexican immigrants in the northeast San Fernando Valley, got into politics in the 1990s over his dismay with anti-immigrant sentiment, and this week has encouraged Los Angeles residents to protest the immigration sweeps.
“If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question,” Padilla said later, his eyes welling with tears, “if this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they’re doing to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country.”
Laura Eimiller, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said Padilla was escorted out of the room by the Secret Service and FBI police officers who act as building security, but was not arrested. Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino said that Padilla had not been wearing a security pin and “physically resisted law enforcement when confronted.”
Noem continued without mentioning the disruption, telling reporters that immigration agents have been “doxxed from doing their duty, how they have been targeted and their families have been put in jeopardy.”
The video of Padilla’s “freakout,” said White House Communications Director Steven Cheung in a post on X, “shows the public what a complete lunatic Padilla is by rushing towards Secretary Noem and disturbing the informative press conference.” Videos from the room showed Padilla interrupting Noem, but did not show him rushing toward her.
After being escorted to the separate room and led a few doors down, Padilla raised his hands in front of his chest as the agents marched him past an office cubicle and down a hallway, a video taken by a member of Padilla’s staff and shared with The Times showed.
The agents forced Padilla to his knees and then to his chest, his face against the carpet. One agent said, “On the ground, on the ground, hands behind your back.”
The officers bent one of Padilla’s arms behind his back and attached a handcuff, then said, “Other hand, sir? Other hand.”
One federal agent turned to the member of Padilla’s staff who was filming and said, “There’s no recording allowed out here, per FBI rights.”
Noem told reporters she met with Padilla privately for about 15 minutes after the incident, then said, “I wish that he would have reached out and identified himself and let us know who he was and that he wanted to talk.”
His approach, she said, “was something that I don’t think was appropriate at all, but the conversation was great, and we’re going to continue to communicate.”
At a makeshift podium outside the federal building, Padilla said he was attending a briefing with Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, when he learned of the press conference.
He said he and fellow Democrats have received “little to no information” from the administration, so he attended the press conference “to hear what she had to say, to see if I can learn any new additional information.”
“At one point I had a question, and so I began to ask a question,” Padilla said. “I was almost immediately forcibly removed from the room. I was forced to the ground, and I was handcuffed. I was not arrested. I was not detained.”
Padilla’s run-in with federal agents was decried by Democrats in California, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the detainment “outrageous, dictatorial and shameful.”
“Trump and his shock troops are out of control,” Newsom said. “This must end now.”
At a press conference downtown Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said federal agents had “shoved and cuffed a sitting U.S. senator,” as people behind her booed.
“How could you say that you did not know who he was?” Bass said. “We see the video tape, we see him saying who he was — but how do you not recognize one of two senators in our state? And he is not just any senator. He is the first Latino citizen senator to ever represent our state.”
Sen. Adam Schiff, the other Democrat representing California in the Senate, blasted the behavior of federal agents as “disgraceful and disrespectful,” saying it “demands our condemnation.”
Padilla “represents the best of the Senate,” Schiff said on X. “He will not be silenced or intimidated. His questions will be answered. I’m with Alex.”
Some Republicans in California condemned Padilla’s behavior, including John Dennis, the chairman of the California Republican County Chairmen’s Association, who said on X that “Padilla represents the emotional, violent, self-indulgent California Democrats leadership.”
“Do you want your senator behaving this way?” Dennis asked.
And Republican state Assemblymember Joe Patterson of Rocklin wrote, “If I busted into a press conference with the Governor or Sen. Padilla, I promise you, the same exact thing would happen to me.” He later added: “The whole entire incident really sucks. I didn’t like to see this occur at all.”
In Washington, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said on the Senate floor that the video of Padilla being handcuffed “sickened my stomach.”
“It’s despicable. It’s disgusting,” he said. “It is so un-American, so un-American, and we need answers. We need answers immediately.”
Times staff writers Richard Winton and Nathan Solis contributed to this report.
The Smithsonian’s statement said the organization’s secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch, “has the support of the Board of Regents in his authority and management of the Smithsonian.” The statement suggested that all personnel decisions will be made by Bunch, not Trump.
The announcement came after a much-anticipated Board of Regents meeting to discuss the fate of Sajet. The Washington Post had reported that Sajet quietly continued to show up for work each day after Trump’s social media post, which said he was firing Sajet for being “a highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI.”
The Smithsonian’s statement Monday did not explicitly state that Sajet would remain in her position, and the institution did not respond to a Times question on that subject. But the text of the statement is clear in its intent, beginning: “In 1846, the Smithsonian was established by Congress as an independent entity.”
It continues: “Throughout its history, the Smithsonian has been governed and administered by a Board of Regents and a Secretary. The board is entrusted with the governance and independence of the Institution, and the board appoints a Secretary to manage the Institution.”
The Smithsonian’s move comes shortly after the White House proposed a 12% reduction in funding to the Smithsonian in the 2026 budget — including the elimination of funding for the National Museum of the American Latino, which is in the development stages and aims to open on or near the National Mall; and the Anacostia Community Museum, which opened in 1967 and honors Black culture.
The Smithsonian became a target for Trump beginning March 27, when he issued an executive order titled “Restoring truth and sanity to American history.” That order demanded an end to federal funding for exhibitions and programs based on racial themes that “divide Americans.”
“Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,” the order read. It also instructed Vice President JD Vance to remove “improper ideology” from the Smithsonian’s 21 museums and the National Zoo in Washington.
One major difference between the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian: The Kennedy Center’s board is appointed by the president, but the Smithsonian’s board consists of officials representing all three branches of government. Vance is on the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents, as is Chief Justice John G. Roberts.
“Since its inception, the Smithsonian has set out to be a nonpartisan institution,” the statement Monday read. “As the nation’s museum, the Smithsonian must be a welcoming place of knowledge and discovery for all Americans. The Board of Regents is committed to ensuring that the Smithsonian is a beacon of scholarship free from political or partisan influence, and we recognize that our institution can and must do more to further these foundational values.
“To reinforce our nonpartisan stature, the Board of Regents has directed the Secretary to articulate specific expectations to museum directors and staff regarding content in Smithsonian museums, give directors reasonable time to make any needed changes to ensure unbiased content, and to report back to the Board on progress and any needed personnel changes based on success or lack thereof in making the needed changes.”
Far-right anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, was asked to leave a London restaurant after the business said guests and staff felt uncomfortable.
The 42-year-old said he and four others were told to leave the Hawksmoor steakhouse, near Piccadilly Circus, on Thursday.
Yaxley-Lennon has accused the restaurant of “discriminatory behaviour” due to his political beliefs.
Hawksmoor, which did not name Yaxley-Lennon in its statement, said the group left the restaurant “politely”, adding that its decision was “not about politics or belief” and it was “not trying to engage in a public debate”.
The restaurant chain has been contacted for further comment.
Video footage, posted on X by a member of Yaxley-Lennon’s group, shows a member of staff telling them that his colleagues felt “uncomfortable serving” them.
The staff member is then heard saying that he had a “duty of care”, adding that he would waive the bill for their drinks and apologising for the inconvenience.
Posting on X, Yaxley-Lennon said: “Restaurants and businesses should not be political. We weren’t loud, aggressive or inappropriate, so this can only be my politics.”
Tripadvisor has temporarily suspended reviews on some Hawksmoor restaurants due to an influx of reviews “that do not describe a first-hand experience”.
It comes after Yaxley-Lennon called for a boycott of the restaurant and for his followers on X to leave reviews.
The steakhouse chain has seven restaurants in London, with branches in Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester and abroad.
In a statement Hawksmoor said: “On Thursday, a public figure was asked to leave one of our restaurants because guests and staff felt uncomfortable and had complained.
“The party left peacefully and politely on request.”
It added it wanted to welcome guests “regardless of background or views” and its team had to deal with a “huge amount of fallout… some of which is quite concerning”.
BBC News has contacted the steakhouse chain’s CEO for comment.
Walt Disney Co. launched another deep round of layoffs on Monday, notifying several hundred Disney employees in the U.S. and abroad that their jobs were being eliminated amid an increasingly difficult economic environment for traditional television.
People close to the Burbank entertainment giant confirmed the cuts, which are hitting film and television marketing teams, television publicity, casting and development as well as corporate financial operations.
The move comes just three months after the company cut 200 workers, including at ABC News in New York and Disney-owned entertainment networks. At the time, the division said it was cutting its staff by 6% amid shrinking TV ratings and revenue for traditional television.
Disney declined to specify how many workers were losing their jobs. The cutbacks come after Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger acknowledged to Wall Street that Disney had been pumping out too many shows and movies to compete against Netflix. The programming build-up accelerated as the company prepared to launch Disney+ in late 2019, and it bulked up its staff to handle the more robust pipeline.
But the company since has retrenched, recognizing the need to focus on creating high-quality originals that meet Disney’s once lofty standards.
ABC News shed about 40 employees last October. The company’s TV stations also lost staff members.
The ABC television network and Disney-owned entertainment channels have seen dramatic audience defections as consumers switch to streaming services, including Netflix, Paramount+ and Disney+.
BRITS chasing the sun this summer could face fresh holiday hell as bar staff prepare to strike during peak season.
It comes after 80,000 employees took to the streets in Tenerife earlier in the year demanding better pay and working conditions.
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Bar staff have threatened a mass walk out if their pay demands are not metCredit: Louis Wood
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Thousands of locals flooded the streets to protest mass tourismCredit: Getty
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Locals called on tighter restrictionsCredit: AFP
In a move that could spark chaos for Brits travelling to Tenerife this summer, union bosses said industrial action could start as early as July.
The unions, Sindicalistas de Base and UGT, have issued bosses with an ultimatum, warning of a major walk out if they are not granted a 6.5 per cent salary bump.
They have made it clear that no further negotiations will happen if these conditions are not met.
This isn’t the first time Tenerife has been at the centre of sweeping industrial action.
Last month, cleaners and restaurant workers in the sunny hotspot took to the streets after deeming an offer from their employer not acceptable.
The tourism employers’ association, formed by Ashotel and AERO, had offered a four per cent increase in pay for workers, hoping it would prevent them from protesting during the Easter holidays.
But unions wanted 6.25 per cent.
They said their decision was unanimous and would not change plans to strike against tourists.
With over 170,000 tourism workers in the Canary Islands set to protest, business owners about to welcome thousands of tourists were despairing.
They planned to demonstrate in all the tourist hotspots, including Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote.
Inside Tenerife’s ongoing war between tourists and locals
By law, strikers have to provide a “minimum service” but the unions said hotel cleaning, food and entertainment don’t fall into this category.
They said they must try and preserve the health of hotel workers and provide them with the very best of working conditions.
Elsewhere, locals flooded the streets to protest against mass tourism in the area.
Activists vowed to storm popular tourist attractions, disrupt public events and “confront political leaders” in a fiery new phase of protests kicking off May 18 — right as peak holiday season begins.
“From now on, we will take our fight to the very spaces where their predatory model is perpetuated,” declared pressure group Canarias tiene un límite (The Canaries Have a Limit).
“We will boycott public events, confront political leaders during their appearances and occupy symbolic tourist spaces to make it clear that we will not stop until real change is achieved.”
“The Canary Islands can no longer be a postcard backdrop for the enjoyment of a privileged few,” the statement read.
In a separate warning, the group said: “This cry, which reflects the feelings of a people tired of being ignored and mistreated, will be the beginning of a new stage of struggle: firmer, more direct, more uncomfortable for those who refuse to listen to us and take real measures.”
In June last year, beach workers also walked off the job over what unions called “precarious” conditions.
As tensions boil over, the Canary Islands Government has now announced plans to completely overhaul its outdated 30-year-old tourism laws in a landmark reform effort.
Alfonso Cabello, spokesperson for the regional government, said: “We’re doing this the Canary Islands way — extending a hand and listening to everyone.”
The sweeping reforms aim to tackle everything from sky-high housing costs in tourist areas to crumbling infrastructure and overworked public services.
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Thousands of people took to the streetsCredit: Getty
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Activists vowed to storm popular tourist attractionsCredit: Getty
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Protests erupted at the peak of tourist seasonCredit: Getty
AN ICONIC carmaker has been thrown a £1billion lifeline from the UK Government.
The struggling car maker had announced plans to axe over 20,000 members of staff due to soaring production costs and disappointing sales.
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An iconic carmaker is on an urgent mission to save £5 billionCredit: Getty
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Over 20,000 jobs could be cut as part of the brand’s bid to save cashCredit: AFP
Nissan is looking to raise £5.2billion to stay afloat, with UK Export Finance underwriting a £1billion loan – which will support the beleaguered company.
The manufacturer is planning to cut its number of factories from 17 down to 10.
This has prompted fears that the brand’s Sunderland factory could be under threat.
While Nissan has not confirmed the fate of its only UK factory, its CEO Ivan Espinosa has insisted that more electric cars will be produced there.
It is hoped that the £1billion loan from Nissan’s lenders, underwritten by The Government, will protect the site.
The huge cash injection is just a fifth of the 1Trillion Yen needed by the company to survive.
It will also look to issue as much as 630billion yen in convertible securities and bonds, including high-yield and euro notes.
He said: “In the face of challenging full-year 2024 performance and rising variable costs compounded by an uncertain environment, we must prioritise self-improvement with greater urgency and speed, aiming for profitability that relies less on volume.”
He added: “As new management, we are taking a prudent approach to reassess our targets and actively seek every possible opportunity to implement and ensure a robust recovery.”
Work on all “advanced and post-FY26 product activities” has been paused, though Nissan has not confirmed which particular vehicles will face suspension.
Mr Espinosa has previously issued a full statement about Nissan’s financial woes.
He said: “This is not something that happened in the last couple of years.
“It’s more of a fundamental problem that probably started back in 2015, when management thought this company could reach [annual global vehicle sales] of around eight million.
“There were heavy investments both in terms of planned capacity as well as in human resources, but the reality today is we are running at around half that volume. And nobody did anything to fix that until now.”
The Finnish Aviation Union has announced three strikes among workers at Helsinki Airport over the coming weeks, with Finnair the airline most impacted by the industrial action
Young Asian businesswoman sad and unhappy at the airport with flight canceled.
Finnair has grounded 110 flights, impacting 8,000 customers, on a single day of a three-day strike.
Brits flying to Finland are facing travel chaos yet again, as the Finnish Aviation Union (IAU) has announced three fresh strikes on May 30, June 2, and June 4 at Helsinki Airport. This is Finland’s seventh aviation strike in under a month.
The industrial action is predicted to impact just shy of 30 UK flights across the three days. As the summer getaway kicks off, this latest wave of strikes will have ripple effects across Europe. The IAU, representing ground handling, baggage, catering, maintenance, and customer service staff, will strike over wage disputes with PALTA in 4-hour staggered shifts, leading to full-day disruptions.
Finnair has had to cancel more than 100 flights(Image: No credit)
According to the IAU, the average earnings of Finnair Group employees rose by 6.4 percent between 2020 and 2023. During that same period the national average increase across all sectors was 10.4 percent.
The strikes are designed to maximise disruption, with union officials organising the walkouts at strategic times across a six-day window. The result is a wave of residual disruption: cancelled flights one day, incomplete baggage delivery the next, and last-minute rerouting throughout.
Palta, which represents employers, has argued that most employee groups were ready to accept the mediator’s proposed increases, Helsinki Times reports. It has said that the IAU is demanding adjustments beyond what others have asked for.
The cancelled direct flights from the UK will see nearly 5,400 passengers affected. Since Helsinki is a direct transit hub for Brits flying to Asia, the Baltics and Northern Finland. According to Air Advisor, 11,400 UK passengers will be affected.
Key UK routes likely to be impacted include London Heathrow to Helsinki, Manchester to Helsinki, and Edinburgh to Helsinki.
The IAU strikes are not the only ones impacting European aviation customers this week. The May 30 to June 4 strikes align with Italy’s May 28 aircrew/taxi strikes, creating a rare “Nordic-Mediterranean Disruption Corridor”, disrupting Helsinki, Milan, and Rome hubs. This will strain Frankfurt and Amsterdam connections, adding excessive pressure on these hubs.
Anton Radchenko, aviation expert and founder of AirAdvisor, said: This is no longer a strike story, it’s a system failure story. Helsinki has now had more strikes in 30 days than most countries have in a year. This represents something far more serious than a few cancelled flights: they signal a system on the brink. Helsinki Airport, once considered one of the smoothest hubs in Europe, is now suffering from chronic unpredictability. For UK passengers, this isn’t just about Finland, it’s about how a local dispute can derail an entire travel experience across Europe.
“The most worrying aspect is the deliberate spread of these strikes. By placing them days apart, IAU is stretching airline operations beyond recovery: think of aircraft out of position, bags not making it to destinations, and crew timing out. It matters because this kind of disruption doesn’t stay in Finland; it ripples across hubs like London Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, making it even more chaotic.”
Affected passengers should check the airline’s website and mobile app for alternative flight options and manage their bookings accordingly. Finnair has told impacted customers that they will be supported with rebooking options to minimize inconvenience.
Authorities are investigating the fatal shootings outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, as hate crimes and ‘terrorism’.
By Maria Briceño | Politifact
Published On 28 May 202528 May 2025
Following the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, DC, last week, some social media users claimed the incident was a “false flag” because of when and where it happened.
“So you’re telling me two Israeli diplomats got killed across the street from an FBI field office outside a Jewish museum that had *closed* 4 hours earlier,” said a May 22 X post. “And one day after Israel fired at European diplomats and Europe was talking sanctions and you don’t think it’s a false flag?”
Other X posts similarly speculated about the deadly shooting on May 21.
The “false flag” phrase stems from the misuse of literal flags. Historically, a false flag operation referred to a military force or a ship flying another country’s flag for deception purposes.
Some confirmed false flag operations have occurred throughout history. But they have been outpaced in recent years by conspiracy theories that label real events as “false flags,” or an attack that’s designed to look like it was perpetrated by one person or party, when in fact it was committed by someone else.
Unfounded false flag claims often follow mass violence incidents, including Israel’s war on Gaza, the 2022 Uvalde school shooting and the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Historians warn that social media rumours alleging that big news events are “false flags” should be viewed sceptically. Real false flag operations are logistically complex and tend to involve many people.
PolitiFact found no credible evidence to support the claim that the Israeli embassy employees’ shooting is a false flag.
What we know about the shooting
The X post said the shooting, which happened on a Wednesday, is a “false flag” because the museum had closed four hours earlier. The museum usually closes at 5pm on Wednesdays, except for the first Wednesday of each month, when it closes at 8pm.
However, the American Jewish Committee hosted an event on May 21 at the museum, scheduled to end at 9pm.
Preliminary investigations say the shooting happened after 9pm local time when the two victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were exiting an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, said Pamela A Smith, the Metropolitan Police Department police chief, at a May 21 press conference.
Police identified the suspect as Elias Rodriguez, a 31-year-old man from Chicago, Illinois. Rodriguez chanted, “Free, free, Palestine” after he was arrested, Smith said. The Justice Department charged him with the murder of foreign officials and other crimes.
The shooting, which has widely been criticised, came as Israel’s actions in Gaza has caused a global outrage and protests calling for ceasefire.
Jeanine Pirro, interim US attorney for the District of Columbia, said on May 22 that the incident is being investigated as a hate crime and “terrorism”.
The Capital Jewish Museum is diagonally across the street from the FBI’s DC field office. FBI Director Kash Patel and the Israeli government have condemned the shooting.
There is no evidence that the shooting was a false flag. We rate this claim False.
NEW YORK — The upcoming month was already going to be tough for the Dodgers.
A rainy Friday night in Queens made it that much tougher.
In the fourth game of a 29-game stretch against playoff-contending teams, the Dodgers beat the New York Mets in a marathon contest at Citi Field, overcoming a three-run ninth-inning blown save from closer Tanner Scott by prevailing 7-5 in the 13th inning.
But, their already shorthanded pitching staff endured more unexpected obstacles in the process. A one-hour, 38-minute rain delay in the top of the third limited starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw to just two innings. A seemingly never-ending game forced their overworked bullpen to combine for 11 more innings in which every reliever was used except one.
Navigating this difficult portion of the schedule — which began in earnest with a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks this week — will be a test for a Dodgers pitching staff missing three of its five opening-day rotation members and many other important arms in the bullpen.
Because of that, manager Dave Roberts has emphasized in recent days the need to push his starters to take down as many innings as possible.
On Friday, Kershaw seemed to be on his way to a decent start, pitching two scoreless innings in which his only baserunner reached via a walk that was quickly erased by a double play.
Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivers in the second inning Friday against the Mets.
(Pamela Smith / Associated Press)
But then, with the Dodgers mounting a rally in the top of the third, the New York skies opened up for a late May downpour. For the next 98 minutes, fans scattered for shelter and watched the Knicks’ playoff game on the stadium scoreboard. Back in the visiting clubhouse, Roberts watched the clock tick and tick and tick, eventually to the point where keeping Kershaw in was no longer a viable option.
By the end of the night, that was the least of the Dodgers’ problems.
Despite holding a 5-2 lead after getting three innings of two-run ball from Matt Sauer, and three scoreless innings from Ben Casparius, Scott couldn’t get the game across the finish line.
Starling Marte led with a single. Pete Alonso drew a one-out walk. Jeff McNeil got them both home on a triple hit just high enough to evade a leaping Freddie Freeman at first base. Tyrone Taylor then completed Scott’s fourth blown save in 14 opportunities with an RBI single to left.
Somehow, the Dodgers (32-19) still managed to prevail.
Alex Vesia got the game to extras, stranding two runners aboard to end the ninth. Both teams then traded wasted opportunities from there, failing to score their automatic runners in the 10th (when the Dodgers had the bases loaded with no outs), the 11th (when Anthony Banda and Luis García combined to escape a bases-loaded threat) and the 12th (when the Dodgers turned an inning-ending double play while employing a five-man infield).
Finally, Teoscar Hernández put the Dodgers back in front in the 13th, hitting a leadoff RBI double before scoring on Andy Pages’ sacrifice fly.
García closed it out in the bottom half of the inning, completing a 2 ⅓ scoreless inning appearance just minutes shy of 1 a.m. local time.
It was a hard-fought win, but one that could come with future consequences for a pitching staff that was already running on fumes.
Grounds crew members cover the field during a rain delay at Citi Field on Friday night.
WASHINGTON — President Trump is ordering a major overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink its size, lead to the ouster of some political appointees and return many career government employees back to their home agencies, according to two U.S. officials and another person familiar with the reorganization.
The number of staff at the NSC is expected to be significantly reduced, according to the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel matter.
The shake-up is just the latest shoe to drop at the NSC, which is being dramatically remade after the ouster early this month of Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, who had hewed to traditional Republican foreign policy on some issues.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been serving as national security advisor since the departure of Waltz, who was nominated to serve as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.
The move is expected to elevate the importance of the State Department and Pentagon in advising Trump on important foreign policy moves.
The NSC, created during the Truman administration to counter the emerging Soviet threat after the end of World War II, is an arm of the White House tasked with advising and assisting the president on national security and foreign policy and coordinating among various government agencies.
Trump was frustrated in his first term by political appointees and other advisors who he thought got in the way of his agenda.
There were roughly 395 people working at the NSC, including about 180 support staff, according to one official. About 90 to 95 of those being ousted are policy or subject-matter experts seconded from other government agencies. They will be given an opportunity to return to their home agencies if they want.
Many of the political appointees will also be given positions elsewhere in the administration, the official said.
The NSC has been in a state of tumult during the early going of Trump’s second term in the White House.
Waltz was ousted weeks after Trump fired several NSC officials, a day after the influential far-right activist Laura Loomer raised concerns to him about staff loyalty. Loomer has in the past spread 9/11 conspiracy theories and promoted QAnon, an apocalyptic and convoluted conspiracy theory, and took credit for the ouster of the NSC officials who she said were disloyal.
And the White House, days into the administration, sidelined about 160 NSC aides, sending them home while the administration reviewed staffing and tried to align it with Trump’s agenda. The aides were career government employees, commonly referred to as detailees.
This latest shake-up amounts to a “liquidation” of NSC staffing, with career government detailees on assignment to the NSC being sent back to their home agencies and several political appointees being pushed out of their positions, according to the person familiar with the decision.
A White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that the overhaul, first reported by Axios, was underway. Andy Baker, the national security advisor to Vice President JD Vance, and Robert Gabriel, an assistant to the president for policy, will serve as deputy national security advisors, according to the White House official.
Waltz, during his short tenure heading the NSC, came under searing criticism in March after revelations that he added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a private text chain on an encrypted messaging app that was used to discuss planning for a sensitive military operation against Houthi militants in Yemen.
Waltz has taken responsibility for building the text chain but has said he does not know how Goldberg ended up being included.
Loomer had encouraged Trump to purge aides who she believes are insufficiently loyal to the president’s “America first” agenda.
She also complained to sympathetic administration officials that Waltz was too reliant on “neocons” — shorthand for the more hawkish neoconservatives within the Republican Party — as well as what she perceived as “not-MAGA-enough” types, the person said.
It wasn’t just Loomer who viewed Waltz suspiciously. He was viewed with a measure of skepticism by some Trump loyalists who saw the former Army Green Beret and three-term congressman as too tied to Washington’s foreign policy establishment.
On Russia, Waltz shared Trump’s concerns about the high price tag of extensive U.S. military aid to Ukraine. But he also advocated for further diplomatically isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin — a position that was out of step with Trump, who has viewed the Russian leader with tolerance and admiration.
Waltz’s more hawkish rhetoric on Iran and China, including U.S. policy toward Taiwan, seemed increasingly out of step with Trump, who has favored military restraint and diplomacy toward some traditional adversaries — though not toward certain allies, such as his belligerent rhetoric about taking over Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal.
Associated Press writers Lee and Madhani reported from Washington and Kim from Fishkill, N.Y.
Staff at ITV are said to be growing angrier as the row over cuts on key shows such as Loose Women and Lorraine continues, with insiders fearing a drop in standards
23:28, 22 May 2025Updated 23:50, 22 May 2025
ITV staff fury grows over 220 job cuts and ‘death of daytime’ as CEO pockets £4million salary(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
ITV staff fury is growing as the row over sweeping cuts to Loose Women and Lorraine continues to rage. Recriminations are becoming increasingly bitter over the channel’s axing of 220 jobs, with insiders insisting viewers will notice a drop in standards.
Many are blaming chief executive Carolyn McCall for the “death of daytime” and have criticised her for pocketing a massive £4million salary, including bonus, last year. There is also widespread anger that the cost-savings, which will radically change ITV ’s daytime schedule from January, were not delivered by Ms McCall to staff gathered in London’s Television Centre, on Tuesday.
A Good Morning Britain source said: “She could have walked the 400 yards to the studio to explain to folk in person.” But a channel spokeswoman said ITV Studios MD Julian Bellamy personally wanted to deliver the news: “It was really important to him that he shared this news directly in the way he felt appropriate. This is also very much in line with best practice HR given the sensitivity of the situation.”
Loose Women will feel the effect of the changes(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
They said ITV boss Kevin Lygo made the decision to shake-up the schedules. It comes as the channel was rocked by a series of other developments including:
Claims that standards across Lorraine and Loose Women in particular will go into a “death spiral” leaving viewers short-changed.
Outrage over stars on shows such as This Morning keeping their well-paid jobs while hundreds are sacked.
Fears of strikes among heavily unionised GMB studio crew and technicians.
On screen, viewers will see huge changes to the daytime schedule. Lorraine is the worst hit. It will run for 30 weeks, not 50 weeks a year, and will be slashed from an hour to 30 minutes each day.
Loose Women will stay at the same running time but will also be cut to 30 weeks. This Morning will remain the same length and frequency. Meanwhile Good Morning Britain will be extended by 30 minutes, to run from 6am to 9.30am. For the 22 weeks of the year Lorraine is not airing, it will go on until 10am.
A source said: “It’s not a case of viewers seeing less of their shows… it’s impossible to see how the high standards will remain the same. Some staff believe Loose Women and Lorraine in particular will enter a death spiral… it’s just so sad. Just a handful of people will be working on each of those two programmes which has huge ramifications for how they are going forward.”
All the shows are now going to be made under one roof. An insider asked: “If that’s the case, will Loose Women really still have a live audience…will there be the capacity for that? Everyone doubts it, not least because of the manpower needed to oversee it. Also, there is a huge amount of background work which goes into securing guests… in the new climate how does that continue with barely any staff?”
ITV sources insist that they want “minimal change” for viewers. The source said: “It’s early days and we are currently consulting but we don’t want to alienate our viewers and it’s hoped there will be minimal change on screen. Daytime is hugely important to our viewers.”
The Loose Women panel, including Coleen Nolan, GK Barry and Frankie Bridge, are also expected to see shifts dwindle, especially those who live outside London and charge for travel and hotels. Glam squads are also expected to be axed with stars expected to use in-house make-up.
An insider said: “To be honest there is very little sympathy for stars having their glam squads cut among the rank and file staff, in fact there is a lot of anger that on the whole the channel’s biggest stars are all keeping their jobs – and their exorbitant salaries – while others suffer.”
They added: “It’s no secret that stars on This Morning such as Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley are on huge salaries. Many believe they should offer to take cuts, or at least when their contracts are next negotiated.”
On the whole, This Morning is unaffected by the sweeping cuts. It will remain in its 10am-12.30pm slot on weekdays although questions remain over whether standards will be maintained.
The current Good Morning Britain team was particularly hard hit – of the 133 staff who currently make the early-bird magazine show, hosted by Susanna Reid, Richard Madeley and Ed Balls, just 38 will make the move to ITN which will now produce the show.
One source on the show said: “Lots of the studio crew and technicians will be the hardest hit with ITN taking over their roles. A lot of them are unionised and there is a fear among ITV that industrial action could be an option.”
GMB will be re-homed within ITN’s Gray’s Inn Road headquarters in Central London. Staff working on all shows are expected to “carry on as normal” until the plans are formalised.
A source said: “It’s a mutinous atmosphere to say the least and far removed from the happy, cheery image that ITV Daytime usually evokes.” The Mirror revealed this week staff on Lorraine were particularly worried their main host could quit.
Contrary to reports she was happy to see her hours cut “to spend more time with her family”, insiders say she is devastated for the team on the show being decimated. “They are a tight bunch on Lorraine and the agony is palpable,” said one.
A former senior member of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ staff has struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors, admitting he called in a fake bomb threat to City Hall late last year that was blamed on anti-Israel sentiment, federal prosecutors announced on Thursday.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Brian Williams, a longtime law enforcement oversight official who served as Bass’ deputy mayor of public safety, agreed to plead guilty to a single count of threats regarding fire and explosives, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. He is expected to make his initial court appearance in the next few weeks.
“In an era of heated political rhetoric that has sometimes escalated into violence, we cannot allow public officials to make bomb threats,” U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli said in a news release announcing the deal. “My office will continue its efforts to keep the public safe, including from those who violate their duty to uphold the law.”
In a statement to The Times, Williams’ lawyer Dmitry Gorin said his client “has demonstrated his unreserved and full acceptance of responsibility for his actions.”
“This aberrational incident was the product of personal issues which Mr. Williams is addressing appropriately, and is not representative of his character or dedication to the city of Los Angeles,” Gorin said.
Williams was participating in a virtual meeting at City Hall on Oct. 3, 2024, when he used the Google Voice application on his personal phone to place a call to his city-issued cell phone, according to the plea agreement.
Williams admitted he left the meeting and called Scott Harrelson, a top aide to the LAPD chief. According to the plea, Williams falsely stated that he had just received a call on his city-issued cell phone from an unknown male caller who made a bomb threat against City Hall.
At no time did Williams intend to carry out the threat, according to the plea agreement.
About 10 minutes after calling the LAPD, according to the plea, Williams texted Bass and several other senior mayoral officials a message that read: “Bomb threat: I received phone call on my city cell at 10:48 am this morning. The male caller stated that ‘he was tired of the city support of Israel, and he has decided to place a bomb in City Hall. It might be in the rotunda.’ I immediately contacted the chief of staff of LAPD, they are going to send a number of officers over to do a search of the building and to determine if anyone else received a threat.”
Soon after, LAPD officers searched the building and did not locate any suspicious packages or devices, according to the agreement. Williams told the officers that a man called and said: “I’m tired of the city support of Israel, I have decided to place a bomb in City Hall. It might be in the Rotunda.”
Williams showed the officers the record of an incoming call, which appeared as a blocked number on his city-issued phone. According to the plea deal, that call was the one Williams had placed from Google Voice.
Williams followed up with the mayor and other high-ranking officials some time later with several other texts, saying that there was no need to evacuate City Hall.
“I’m meeting with the threat management officers within the next 10 minutes. In light of the Jewish holidays, we are taking this thread, a little more seriously. I will keep you posted,” the text read, according to federal authorities.
Federal authorities revealed they were looking into Williams last December, when FBI agents raided his home in Pasadena. It sent shock waves through City Hall and the Police Department, where many expressed incredulity at the prospect of a respected government official faking a bomb threat.
Before the case was turned over to the FBI, detectives from the LAPD’s Major Crimes Division conducted surveillance that led them to conclude that Williams was responsible for the bomb threat, sources previously told The Times.
Williams, who was the deputy mayor overseeing the police and fire departments, was on leave because of the criminal investigation in January when Pacific Palisades was engulfed in flames, killing 12 people and destroying more than 6,000 structures.
“Like many, we were shocked when these allegations were first made and we are saddened by this conclusion,” said Zach Seidl, a spokesperson for Bass.
Bass named a former FBI official to replace Williams in early April. The official, Robert Clark, led anti-gang efforts in Los Angeles during his time with the Bureau before retiring in 2016 and serving as a law enforcement consultant and director of public safety for the city of Columbus, Ohio, among other roles.
Williams has held a variety of government positions spanning more than three decades. He had spent nearly two years as a deputy mayor in Bass’ office, working on issues such as police hiring, public safety spending and the search for a new police chief.
Previously, Williams was a deputy mayor in the administration of Mayor James K. Hahn, who held office from 2001 to 2005. Before that, he spent several years as an assistant city attorney in Los Angeles.
From 2016 to 2023, Williams was the executive director of the Sheriff’s Civilian Oversight Commission, according to his LinkedIn page.
Working in Bass’ office, Williams oversaw the Police Department, the Fire Department, Port Police, Airport Police and the city’s emergency management agency, according to his hiring announcement. He was also a member of the mayor’s inner circle, playing a key role in the monthslong search for a new police chief that ended with the hiring of Jim McDonnell.
When Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman was sworn in last year, Williams was the city official chosen to address the audience on behalf of the mayor. He was also a fixture at police graduations, news conferences, community meetings and other events across the city, often wearing a well-pressed suit and a bowtie.
Williams’ attorney Gorin called his client “a career public servant who has worked closely with law enforcement, community groups, public safety and prosecuting agencies throughout his many years in local government and has devoted his life to the service of others.”
Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said in a statement that Williams “not only betrayed the residents of Los Angeles, but responding officers, and the integrity of the office itself, by fabricating a bomb threat.”
“Government officials are held to a heightened standard as we rely on them to safeguard the city,” the statement read. “I’m relieved that Mr. Williams has taken responsibility for his inexplicable actions.”
Thousands of hotel, bar and restaurant staff are planning industrial action in the Balearics. The UGT union says there will be a mass walkout on June 6 followed by several days of strike action in July, the height of the busy tourist season
Rita Sobot Spain Correspondent and Milo Boyd Digital Travel Reporter
16:40, 22 May 2025Updated 16:44, 22 May 2025
Workers are set to walk out (file photo)(Image: undefined via Getty Images)
The holiday islands could face significant disruption in June and July as thousands of hospitality workers plan further strike action. Unless a last-minute agreement is reached, a mass walk-out is planned for June 6, followed by several days of strikes in July, during the height of the tourist season.
The UGT workers’ union has warned strikes are nearing as no progress is being made regarding their demands for improved pay and conditions. The union warns the industrial actions will greatly affect holidaymakers and urges hotels to do everything possible to prevent it.
“If we don’t see the possibility of an agreement in principle, we will call a strike lasting several days,” declared the general secretary of its Services federation on the islands. The union has made it clear that their goal is to exert maximum impact on tourists.
At the same time as the union protests are planned, anti-tourist campaigners are preparing for action (Image: undefined via Getty Images)
At the same time, overtourism protests are due to break out across major resort cities. They include plans to occupy beaches and super-glue apartment locks.
Protests are set to take place in Platja de Palma and Palmanova-Magaluf. The UGT, the largest union in the sector, is playing a key role in negotiating the Collective Agreement of the Balearic hotel industry.
A strike involving thousands of hotel workers, including restaurant and bar staff and cleaners, already took place on May 1. On June 6, the first of the new protests will occur outside the headquarters of the Mallorca hotel federation.
Demonstrations are scheduled for the end of June in Platja de Palma and Palmanova-Magaluf, with the peak planned for July, featuring several days of strikes over alternate weeks.
On June 6, a protest is planned for 10am at the UGT office in Palma. Following the update on negotiation progress, attendees will hold a midday rally outside the Mallorcan Hotel Federation building.
Another demonstration is set to take place at Platja de Palma at the end of next month, with a worker’s march culminating in a rally in front of the local hotel association headquarters. A similar protest will target the Palmanova-Magaluf area, highlighting the workers’ unrest in key tourist hubs around the Bay of Palma.
The unions are fighting for adequate housing and addressing issues such as tourist overpopulation without life quality improvements for workers, increased job demands, salaries not matching living costs, and pay inequality for identical work.
The union wants wages to rise by 19 per cent across the three years to 2027, while the offer from employers flags at 8.5 percent.
In other recent protest news, the CEO of Jet2 Steve Heapy expressed fears that tourist levies could rise in response to overtourism protests in Spain, which have been rumbling on for years and are due to disrupt key destinations this summer. The CEO told a roundtable event at the Spanish embassy in London that he opposed tourist taxes, but feared rises would prove “irresistible”.
