week

Tariff turmoil. Threats against Iran. An anti-immigration surge that has taken two innocent lives.

And there’s a sizable slump hitting the stock, bond, precious metals and cryptocurrency markets.

What’s the connection?

The answer is: Not much.

When it comes to Trump policies, investors have come to realize that Trump is often all talk, little action—that’s the underpinning of the “TACO” trade, for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” which I described in May.

As recently as Jan. 20, for example, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell by more than 2% in a possible reaction to Trump’s saber-rattling over Greenland and threat to hike tariffs on European countries he felt were thwarting his imperial ambitions.

The next day, the index began a comeback, rising nearly 1.2%. By three sessions later, it had recovered all that first day’s loss. The index went on to set an all-time record on Jan. 27, one week after the Greenland sell-off.

The latest sell-off in the investment markets doesn’t appear to be connected to Trump’s policymaking. The current narrative blames artificial intelligence. There’s an inchoate expectation that AI will have a great economic impact, though little of that has emerged thus far, and no one is very clear on what form it will take or even whether it will happen at all.

Investors and investment analysts don’t really know what to make of AI. From reading the most recent market commentaries, one might conclude that investors are unnerved by the potential of AI to upend industries across the spectrum.

“For two years, we have been talking about how AI is going to change the world,” Michael O’Rourke, chief investment strategist at Jonestrading, told Bloomberg. “In the past two weeks, we have seen signs of it in practice.”

The evidence that most Wall Street pundits cite is the downdraft in technology stocks, including software companies that (according to the narrative) may lose their franchise to AI bots. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index has lost a cumulative 5.6% since notching a high on Jan. 28 and has lost 6.2% since its all-time intraday high, reached on Oct. 29.

Yet companies that are seen as winners in the AI derby, such as Google parent Alphabet (down 5.4% this week) and chipmakers AMD (down about 26% since its recent peak in late January) and Nvidia (down 7.5% in the last week), also have been caught in the downdraft.

Leaving the hard numbers aside, conjectures about the effects of AI on individual companies are exactly that — conjectures. The specific trigger of the current downdraft, it’s said, was the release by AI company Anthropic of a tool with which law firms can use the company’s Claude AI bot for tasks including document reviews and research.

Anthropic’s announcement this week sent shares of legal publishing and legal technology companies plummeting. Thomson Reuters, the publisher of Westlaw, was among those most severely hit — down nearly 20% since the announcement.

Yet Anthropic’s real impact on the legal publishing and tech businesses is, at this moment, the subject of sheer speculation. No one can say whether the AI firm will actually dislodge the incumbent providers, several of which already claim to be powering their services with AI.

The sell-off was driven by “a lot of unsophisticated investors just really thinking that AI is going to immediately overnight take away the business of these legacy players,” Ryan O’Leary, a research director at International Data Corp., told Law.com. “A lot of this stuff has been offered for years from the legacy legal technology providers.”

Much of the recent commentary is produced by investment mavens searching for explanations for market moves in recent news nuggets. That’s always a mug’s game. Investors are looking in the wrong place when they try to tie market swings to current events.

(I know whereof I speak, for I used to have the job of conjuring up just such explanations for a market story on a daily basis.)

My favorite investment guru, Barry Ritholtz, author of the 2025 primer “How Not to Invest,” points out that the markets typically give back some portion of their gains after steep run-ups.

“Markets,” Ritholtz wrote, “go up and down; it is easier to ride out a downturn when you realize the giveback is but a small percentage of the recent gains.”

That may be what’s happening now. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has lost about 43 points this year. But that’s less than two-thirds of a percentage point, and it comes after the index turned in average annual gains of more than 23% from the start of 2023 through the end of last year. The Nasdaq composite has lost about 700 points this year, but that’s about 3% of its value, and it comes after gaining 43.4% in 2023, 28.6% in 2024 and 20.4% in 2025.

This record evokes the classic remark of physicist I.I. Rabi at the 1954 hearing convened to consider stripping J. Robert Oppenheimer of his security clearance because of his opposition to developing the hydrogen bomb. After listing Oppenheimer’s wartime accomplishments, including overseeing the invention of the plutonium bomb, Rabi asked the inquisitors, “What more do you want, mermaids?”

Stocks and bonds aren’t the only investment showing signs of exhaustion after a period of sizable gains. Bitcoin traded as high as $97,916 on Jan. 13; on Thursday it traded at about $63,426. That’s a loss of more than 35% — but then, bitcoin is notoriously volatile.

None of this means that the investment markets’ performance is always driven by animal spirits. Real-world events can have significant and sometimes lasting effects. But those events tend to be intrinsic to business rather than externalities such as White House maneuvers or geopolitics.

Consider what happened to the Dow Jones industrial average on Jan. 27. That day, shares of the giant healthcare company UnitedHealth lost nearly 20% of their value due to as a weak earnings report, along with the Trump administration’s plan to limit rate increases for Medicare Advantage plans, an important component of UnitedHealth’s business, next year. The company’s plunge brought down the Dow by more than 400 points, or 0.8%.

But the Dow comprises only 30 companies, weighted by share prices, so a sharp change in an expensive stock can exert strong pressure on the average. But the rest of the market took the news in stride, with the S&P 500 riding a gain of about 0.4% to an all-time high.

It’s also true that the markets aren’t entirely immune to Trump’s policies. The problem is that investors and market outsiders often take him at his word, when he’s merely throwing out options, and thus overreact. Investors tend to take Trump’s tariff threats as done deals, when in the final analysis he has chickened out.

Expectations that the tariffs would drive inflation much higher, for instance — an eventuality that might actually have a genuine effect on the economy and therefore on market values — haven’t been borne out. But the reason, notes Paul Krugman, is that “effective tariff rates have risen much less than headline rates.”

That’s because some countries and some businesses have negotiated carve-outs from the official rates. Despite Trump’s blustering, more than 87% of the value of exports from Canada and Mexico still enjoy tariff exemptions under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement of 2018, which Trump, after all, negotiated and signed.

And Trump does have the power to turn his whims into reality, in ways that could have real-world effects on society and the economy.

All that can be said right now is that hasn’t happened yet. But many of his policy pronouncements remain so nebulous and unrealized that if you’re looking for why the stock market has been in a slump, you would be well advised to look elsewhere.

MOLLY-MAE Hague dropped a giveaway clue that she was pregnant with her second child a WEEK ago – but did you spot it?

The influencer, 25 and boxer Tommy Fury, 25, shared their happy baby news with a surprise video on social media yesterday.

Molly posted a sweet black and white clip on Instagram filmed on January 23, captioning it: “Soon to be four.”

In the clip, the YouTuber showed off her growing baby bump in a white cropped t-shirt.

But some eagle-eyed fans have said that they spotted Molly’s baby bump last week in her latest vlog.

In the video, Molly wore a black long sleeve top and filmed a clip from her kitchen, in front of a glass refrigerator door.

READ MORE ON MOLLY-MAE HAGUE

BABY NO.2

Molly-Mae Hague pregnant with second child after reuniting with Tommy Fury

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Her fans were quick to zoom in and spot Molly’s noticeable baby bump in the reflection.

During the same vlog, Molly admitted she was having nose bleeds again, which was common during her first pregnancy with daughter Bambi.

On Thursday, Molly shared a sweet video with Tommy and three-year-old daughter Bambi, who excitedly wore a “big sister” jumper.

Molly expressed her desire to expand her family with Tommy in scenes aired on her Amazon Prime documentary in January.

Molly dropped various clues about her pregnancy before announcing the news, which is said to have strengthened her relationship with boxer Tommy.

A source told The Sun: “Finding out Molly is pregnant has really helped bring them close together again.

“Tommy is determined to do things right this time he has cancelled all of his summer trips with his friends, as he wants to stand by Molly every step of the way.

“Their new home is in a better place for both of them and has more than enough space for two children.”

The couple co-parented Bambi following their messy split in August 2024 – following reports Tommy cheated on her during a lads’ holiday.

Molly spoke candidly about hopes to expand her family with boxer Tommy during the first instalment of her Amazon Prime documentary, Molly-Mae: Behind It All, which aired to viewers last year.

Opening up about the future, she revealed: “All I want in this life is to be with him, and to have another baby with him, and to grow old as a family. And to live in a nice house together and have a nice life together. That’s all I want.”

In the most recent drop of episodes last month, Molly left her home in Manchester to live with the boxer, which was around the time they found out about Molly’s pregnancy.

Molly explained that after their breakup, she temporarily moved back into her original home while they figured things out.

“When Tommy and I split up I moved back to the original house so I moved for a short amount of time, like not even long enough to tell you guys, and I was just about to tell you but then sadly our relationship ended,” she said.

“It was even more of a hard time than anyone realised because my house was completely empty. I had people coming to view it to rent it. So yeah I moved house and no one knew. So that was all going on among everything. It was a lot of turmoil. It was shambles.”

Just five days after Philip Glass, one of the world’s most famous and revered living composers, canceled the world premiere of his “Lincoln” symphony at the Kennedy Center, President Trump announced he would close the nation’s premier arts center for two years for major renovations.

The arts world — already spinning from the sweeping changes to the venue that began almost a year ago when Trump fired the board and installed himself as chairman — was gobsmacked by the shocking news. And although the president said in a social media post that the closure was about building a “World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before,” speculation abounded that the unexpected move was more about saving face.

Ticket sales had been plummeting since Trump’s takeover and high-profile artists continued to jump ship, a trend that accelerated late last year after the board voted to rename the building the Trump Kennedy center.

Embarrassment could have been a factor in the rash decision, but Trump is not a man who appears to be afflicted by that particular emotion, which takes its cue from a certain amount of self-awareness and humility. For this reason, I am venturing another guess about the president’s motive for pulling the rug out from under the storied venue: retribution.

If ungrateful artists don’t want to play at the Kennedy Center, the Kennedy Center will no longer be around for them to use. Take that.

Since assuming office for the second time last January, exacting revenge on his perceived enemies has been Trump’s main modus operandi. It has animated many of his most stunning decisions, including his early executive orders stripping security clearance and federal court access from law firms who represented his perceived enemies; his many lawsuits against media operations that displeased him; his freezing of federal funding for universities that refused to do his bidding; his indictment of former FBI director James Comey and the investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The list goes on and on.

The Kennedy Center was supposed to mark a vainglorious Trump’s ascendance to the pinnacle of cultural cachet, but instead the culturati shunned and humiliated him — refusing to join his party. New York City high society did the same before he was president. It was a pattern both familiar and painful. So Trump, like the man-child he is, took his ball and went home.

In this case, that ball happens to be the complex that serves as the symbolic seat of the nation’s vibrant, messy, questioning, deeply political and hugely alive arts and culture scene. To lose access to this beating heart — and all that it represents — is a grievous loss for our national identity. Its meaning was enshrined in President Kennedy’s vision for the center, and written on its walls, as the realization of a country, “which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.”

Like many of Trump’s controversial construction projects, the wholesale re-imagining of the Kennedy Center will likely face immediate and lengthy pushback in court. This could mean that it never gets done, and the center remains closed indefinitely. Or we could wake up tomorrow to news that bulldozers have arrived onsite and have begun the process of razing architect Edward Durell Stone’s historic 1971 building — as happened with the East Wing of the White House.

Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president of public relations, wrote in an email that the renovations would include, “Repairing and, where necessary, replacing elements on the exterior of the building to ensure the long-term preservation and integrity of the structure,” as well as getting the building up to code and making fixes to the center’s “HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fire protection, vertical transportation systems, and technical stage systems,” as well as improving parking. She also wrote that the center, which hosts 2 million visitors annually, is working closely with the National Symphony Orchestra, and will “continue to support them with funding at the same level as recent years.”

Nonetheless, the most frightening thing about this new era under Trump is that anything is possible, and we sometimes don’t know exactly what that means until it is far too late.

I’m Arts Editor Jessica Gelt, and here’s your arts and culture news for the week.

On our radar

Yunchan Lim performs next weekend with the L.A. Philharmonic.

(LA Phil)

Dudamel Conducts Beethoven and Lorenz
Playwright Jeremy O. Harris reconceptualizes Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s play “Egmont,” with narration by actor Cate Blanchett and maestro Gustavo Dudamel leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Beethoven’s complete incidental music. The evening begins with the world premiere of Ricardo Lorenz’s “Humboldt’s Nature,” inspired by the South American travels of philosopher and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, followed by 2022 Van Cliburn winner Yunchan Lim performing Robert Schumann’s “Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54.”
8 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. Feb. 13; 8 p.m. Feb. 14; 2 p.m. Feb. 15. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com/events

A scan of the face Nes-Hor, an ancient Egyptian priest whose mummy is featured in “Mummies of the World: The Exhibition” at the California ScienceCenter.

(California ScienceCenter)

Mummies of the World
The scientific study of naturally and intentionally preserved corpses illuminates the lives of ancient people, past cultures and the present in this exhibition that includes more than 30 real-life mummies.
10 a.m.-5 p.m., through Sept. 7. California ScienceCenter, 700 Exposition Park Drive. californiasciencecenter.org

Ann Noble as “Richard III” at A Noise Within.

(Daniel Reichert)

Richard lll
Guillermo Cienfuegos directs this fast-paced reinterpretation of William Shakespeare’s history play, reset in 1970s Britain with Ann Noble in the title role as one of the most fascinating villains ever.
Sunday through March 8. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena. anoisewithin.org

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY
The Abduction from the Seraglio
Pacific Opera Project performs its “Star Trek”-themed parody of Mozart’s in L.A. for the first time in a decade.
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 3 p.m. Sunday. Thorne Auditorium, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road. pacificoperaproject.com

Thomas Adès and Yuja Wang
Composer Adès leads the L.A. Phil in Tchaikovsky’s “Francesca da Rimini , Op. 32,” the U.S. premiere of William Marsey’s “Man With Limp Wrist” and Adès own work “Aquifer”; and pianist Wang performs Prokofiev’s “Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16.”
8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Rickie Lee Jones performs Friday and Saturday at the Wallis.

(Amy Harris / invision/ap)

Rickie Lee Jones
The singer, musician and songwriter brings her genre-defying vocals, crisscrossing rock, R&B, pop, soul and jazz, to the Wallis for two shows.
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Laguna Beach Music Festival
Violinist Stefan Jackiw is joined by Kevin Ahfat on piano, the Parker Quartet and story artist Xai Yaj for a program featuring Beethoven and Janáček on Friday; and on Saturday, Jackiw, Ahfat and the Parker Quartet, along with clarinetist Yoonah Kim and musicians from the Colburn School perform works by American composers Florence Price, Leonard Bernstein, Eric Nathan and Aaron Copland, conducted by Steven Schick.
8 p.m. Friday; 7 p.m. Saturday. Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. philharmonicsociety.org

SATURDAY
asses.masses
Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim’s immersive, eight-hour video game experience — with intermissions, refreshments and a meal included — involves unemployed donkeys demanding that humans surrender their machines and give the animals back their jobs.
1 p.m. Saturday. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History, 1966 to 2026
The exhibition examines Chicana/o/x lens-based image-making through 150 works by nearly 50 artists.
Through Sept. 6. The Cheech, 3581 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside; through July 5. Riverside Art Museum, 3425 Mission Inn Ave. riversideartmuseum.org

Katie Holmes stars in “Hedda Gabler” at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.

(Jan Welters)

Hedda Gabler
Katie Holmes headlines this new version of Henrik Ibsen’s classic drama adapted by Erin Cressida Wilson and directed by Barry Edelstein.
Through March 15. Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego. theoldglobe.org

Just Me – Pico Union
This concert by the award-winning ensemble Tonality, led by founder and Artistic Director Alexander Lloyd Blake, honors and shares the stories of transgender and non-binary individuals.
7 p.m. Saturday. The Pico Union Project, 1153 Valencia St., Los Angeles. ourtonality.org

Mandy Patinkin in Concert: Being Alive
The stage-and-screen star, accompanied by Adam Ben-David on piano, performs Broadway and classic American tunes written by Irving Berlin, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter and Harry Chapin.
8 p.m. Saturday. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org

The orchestral collective Wild Up performs Saturday at the Broad.

(Ian Byers-Gamber)

Wild Up
The orchestral collective presents “The Great Learning, Paragraphs 2 and 7” by Cornelius Cardew, a community collaboration with 30 pre-appointed non-musicians.
8 and 10 p.m. Saturday. The Broad, 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. thebroad.org

SUNDAY
From Fugue to Fantasia: Debussy, Mozart, and More
Colburn alum and violinist Blake Pouliot is joined by Jonathan Brown on viola and percussionist Matthew Howard.
4 p.m. Sunday. Thayer Hall, Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. colburnschool.edu

MONDAY
American International Paderewski Piano Competition
Twenty-five young professional pianists vie for a $10,000 grand prize named for Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a celebrated European concert pianist and composer, who helped lead Poland’s battle for independence after World War I and later served as the nation’s prime minister.
1 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 11 a.m. Feb. 13 and 5 p.m. Feb. 14. Murphy Recital Hall, Loyola Marymount University, 1955 Ignatian Circle. paderewskimusicsociety.org

Right in the Eye
Jean-François Alcoléa, Fabrice Favriou and Thomas Desmartis play more than 50 instruments in this live concert, designed by Alcoléa, that serves as a soundtrack for 12 silent shorts by pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès.
7 p.m. Monday. USC Cinematic Arts, Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway. https://cinema.usc.edu/events/event.cfm?id=72935

TUESDAY
House on Fire
The new music trio of Andrew Anderson, Wells Leng and Richard An perform a program of works for pianos, keyboards and other instruments by Tristan Perich, Erin Rogers, Matthias Kranebitter, Yifeng Yvonne Yuan, Erich Barganier, and group members An and Leng
8 p.m. Tuesday. 2220 Arts + Archives, 2220 Beverly Blvd. pianospheres.org

sex, lies and videotape
The Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. presents a screening of Steven Soderbergh’s breakout 1989 indie starring James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher and Laura San Giacomo with Giacomo in conversation with critic Lael Loewenstein.
7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. egyptiantheatre.com

WEDNESDAY
Amadeus
A new production of Peter Shaffer’s music-infused drama stars Jefferson Mays as Salieri, Sam Clemmett as Mozart and Lauren Worsham as Constanze, with Tony Award winner Darko Tresnjak directing. The Pasadena Conservatory of Music will offer 10-minute Micro Mozart Concerts before every performance
Wednesday through March 8. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molina Ave. pasadenaplayhouse.org

Yefim Bronfman
The pianist performs works by Schumann, Brahms, Debussy and Beethoven in a Colburn Celebrity Recital.
8 p.m. Wednesday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Here Lies Love
Snehal Desai directs an all-new production of the musical about former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos, with concept, music and lyrics by David Byrne and music by Fatboy Slim and choreography by William Carlos Angulo.
Through March 22. Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. centertheatregroup.org

THURSDAY
Intersect Palm Springs Arts + Design Fair
Collectors, designers and curators convene in the Coachella Valley to present new work and share ideas with one another and the public.
4-6 p.m. VIP only and 6-8 p.m.Thursday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 13-15; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. ; Feb. 16. Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 N. Avenida Caballeros. intersectpalmsprings.com

Culture news and the SoCal scene

More on the Kennedy Center
Times classical music critic Mark Swed weighed in on the Kennedy Center’s closure with a deeply knowledgeable piece about the history of the storied venue, and how it has always been a place marked, and sometimes marred, by politics — just never in this way. “The Kennedy Center proved political from Day 1. Leonard Bernstein was commissioned to write a theatrical piece for the center’s opening in 1971, which turned out to be an irreverent ‘Mass’ — musically, liturgically, culturally and, most assuredly, politically. Most of all it was an unmistakable protest against the Vietnam War. In his own protest, President Nixon stayed home,” Swed writes.

And here’s my breaking news story about Trump’s announced closure of the venue.

Many nights at the opera
Meanwhile, arts and entertainment writer Malia Mendez penned a lovely piece announcing L.A. Opera’s 2026-27 season — the first under its new music director, Domingo Hindoyan, who takes over after longtime leader James Conlon steps down. Fun fact: Hindoyan and soon-to-depart Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel have been friends since their days together in Venezuela’s world-renowned youth orchestra El Sistema.

Mark your calendar
On Thursday, Malia scored another exclusive, reporting on LACMA’s announcement that the David Geffen Galleries, the pinnacle of a two-decade campus transformation, will officially open April 19. Museum members will have two weeks of priority access to the galleries, with general admission beginning May 4. It was nearly a decade ago that business magnate David Geffen made a record-high $150-million donation toward the construction of a new museum building to be designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor. The $720-million structure will serve as the new home for LACMA’s permanent collection with 90 exhibition galleries organized thematically rather than by medium or chronology. “It’s kind of a worldview,” LACMA Director and Chief Executive Michael Govan told The Times. “It’s big enough that it can hold the world.”

Will Swenson stars as “Sweeney Todd” at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.

(Jason Niedle / TETHOS)

A bloody good time
Comedian, musical theater star and “Seinfeld” alum Jason Alexander directed a revival of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, and Times theater critic Charles McNulty was there to catch it. “Alexander’s production of ‘Sweeney Todd’ has breadth and heft, but also intimacy and lightness,” McNulty writes in his review.

Rebuilding Altadena
Times contributor Sam Lubell wrote a comprehensive piece about the rebuilding of Altadena’s community spaces and parks in the wake of the Eaton fire, a task that has attracted the talent and attention of Disney Imagineers and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban.

New Hammer hires
Exciting staffing news arrives from the Hammer Museum at UCLA, which announced two new leadership appointments: Michael Wellen has been named the museum’s new chief curator; and Regan Pro is being brought on in the newly created role of chief of learning, engagement, and research, taking the lead on public programs and community partnerships, as well as K-12, family, and university initiatives. Both new hires will report to museum director Zoë Ryan. Wellen arrives from London’s Tate Modern where he is currently senior curator of international art; and Pro is a longtime arts leader and educator who most recently served as the deputy director of public programs and social impact at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

Alexander Shelley has been named music director of Pacific Symphony.

(Curtis Perry)

Taking the baton
Pacific Symphony announced its 2026-27 Classical Series, marking the orchestra’s 48th season, and its first under the leadership of its new artistic and music director, Alexander Shelley. The season’s two opening programs will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, and the 40th anniversary of Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The opening night celebration in September features violinist Joshua Bell, after which Shelley will guide the season through a series of classic works, beginning with Mahler’s Second Symphony. A season highlight will be a program called America 250, which celebrates the country’s semiquincentennial and includes work by Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. Also on the calendar: John Adams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, “Nixon in China,” and a two-week Beethoven Revolution Festival.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Do you want to get so close to an elephant that you can see his or her eyelashes? I do. I really do.

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency has lost about one-third of its value since the start of the year.

Bitcoin has fallen sharply, racking up more losses after a tumultuous week for the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.

The digital currency was down nearly 14 percent on Friday morning, hovering at about $62,900 as of 01:00 GMT.

The slide continues a run of steep losses that kicked off last weekend, when the digital currency fell below $80,000.

After the latest tumble, Bitcoin, which is famed for its dramatic price swings, is down about one-third in value since the start of the year.

Bitcoin soared after United States President Donald Trump’s re-election raised expectations that Washington would adopt a crypto-friendly regulatory regime after years of crackdowns, with the digital currency hitting $100,000 for the first time in December 2024.

But the digital asset has largely been on a downward spiral since October, when it hit an all-time peak of more than $127,000, amid geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty.

A Trump-backed bill to regulate the trade of digital assets has stalled in the US Senate amid divisions between banks and cryptocurrency firms.

The Trump family’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, has also come under scrutiny in the US Congress after The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported that representatives of an Abu Dhabi official had signed a deal to invest $500m for a major stake in the venture.

Bitcoin’s latest tumble comes amid a heavy sell-off in global stocks and commodities.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 dropped 1.2 percent on Wednesday, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite fell about 1.6 percent.

Shares of tech giant Amazon plunged more than 11 percent in after-hours trading after its plans to invest $200bn in artificial intelligence-related infrastructure stoked fears of a tech bubble.

In the Asia Pacific, South Korea’s KOSPI plunged about 5 percent in early morning trading, while Australia’s ASX 200 and Japan’s Nikkei 225 were down more than 1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Precious metals, which have been on a volatile ride after racking up huge gains in 2025, also continued their recent streak of losses.

Gold was down more than 4 percent on Thursday, trading at about $4,720 an ounce.

Silver, which has seen even more dramatic price swings, fell as much as 18.5 percent, trading at about $69.

WASHINGTON — Senate Republican Leader John Thune warned Thursday that Congress is not close to an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security, signaling that another short-term extension may be the only way to avoid a shutdown as Democrats demand “nonnegotiable” ICE reforms ahead of the Feb. 13 deadline.

The Republicans are increasingly looking to punt the full funding package a second time if negotiations collapse. Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Thune said that such a move would not include any reforms lawmakers had previously negotiated, including body cameras for immigration agents.

“As of right now, we aren’t anywhere close to having any sort of an agreement that would enable us to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” he said. “If [Democrats] are coming to the table demanding a blank check or refusing to consider any measures but their own, they’re likely to end up with nothing.”

He spoke hours after House and Senate Democrats announced they were aligned behind a list of 10 demands they say must be passed before approving the Homeland Security funding package through September.

Democrats are pressing for statutory limits on immigration raids, new judicial warrant requirements, body-worn cameras, identification rules for agents and enhanced oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — reforms they say are necessary to rein in what House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called an agency “out of control.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats are planning to propose the legislation as soon as possible.

“We want our Republican colleagues to finally get serious about this, because this is turning America inside out in a way we haven’t seen in a very long time,” Schumer said.

The coordinated demands signal unity among House and Senate Democrats after a rocky week on Capitol Hill. In a slim vote, 21 House Democrats joined Republicans on Tuesday to end a partial government shutdown by temporarily extending Homeland Security funding through Feb. 13.

The two-week stopgap, called a “continuing resolution,” was meant to leave time for the two parties to debate how to rein in ICE after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

But that truce has quickly unraveled. Republican leaders have little appetite for the full slate of reforms. Some have indicated openness to narrower changes, such as expanding body camera programs and training, but reject mask bans and the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has already ruled out warrant requirements, which would limit immigration agents from entering private property without a court order. In remarks to reporters Wednesday, he also hinted at some interest in attaching voter ID and anti-sanctuary city policies to negotiations.

“It will be part of the discussion over the next couple of weeks, and we’ll see how that shakes out. But I suspect that some of the changes — the procedural modifications with ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement — will be codified,” he said.

Johnson was confident the two sides could make a deal without further delays, adding that negotiations are largely between “the White House, Schumer and Senate Democrats.”

President Trump has privately supported the short-term extension to cool tensions while publicly defending immigration agents and expressing skepticism toward Democrats’ reform push, according to House leadership.

White House border policy advisor Tom Homan also announced a drawdown of 700 federal agents from Minneapolis this week as what officials framed as a goodwill gesture amid negotiations.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Thursday that the administration is willing to consider some of the demands Democrats have made, but said some of their requests are not “grounded in any common sense and they are nonstarters for this administration.”

Leavitt did not specify which reforms the administration was willing to consider. She did, however, say the president is committed to keeping the government open and supporting “immigration enforcement efforts in this country.”

The White House did not respond when asked if the president would support a short-term spending measure should negotiations stall.

Republicans continue to warn that a failure to reach a deal would jeopardize disaster response funding, airport security operations, maritime patrols, and increased security assistance for major national events, including the upcoming World Cup in Los Angeles.

“If we don’t do it by the middle of next week, we should consider a continuing resolution for the rest of the year and just put this all behind us,” said Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), chair of the House Freedom Caucus.

Democrats, however, remain adamant that verbal assurances are no longer enough.

“These are just some of the commonsense proposals that the American people clearly would like to see in terms of the dramatic changes that are needed at the Department of Homeland Security before there is a full-year appropriations bill,” Jeffries said.

Times staff writer Ana Ceballos in Washington contributed to this report.

The FCDO has issued a new travel alert for Brits before the ban starts on February 7

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has released fresh guidance for Brits planning trips to a much-loved holiday hotspot this week. In Wednesday’s update, the FCDO has warned UK travellers about nationwide restrictions in Thailand.

A firm favourite with sun-seekers and backpackers alike, the Southeast Asian nation is preparing for its General Election later this week. While tourists might not anticipate any disruption, those fancying an alcoholic beverage could be in for a shock.

The FCDO stated: “Thailand will hold a General Election on 8 February 2026. A nationwide ban on the sale and distribution of alcohol will be in place from 6pm on 7 February until 6pm on 8 February.

“During this period public consumption of alcohol is prohibited, including at social gatherings. The restrictions apply to convenience stores, bars, restaurants, and entertainment venues, both public and private. If you do not comply with these restrictions, you could face fines of up to 10,000 baht (around £230) and up to six months’ imprisonment.”

Regions to steer clear of

The FCDO is also recommending against all but essential travel to several parts of Thailand, particularly border regions. The FCDO advises against all but essential travel to areas in the south near the Thailand-Malaysia border, including Pattani Province, Yala Province, Narathiwat Province, and the districts of Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi and Saba Yoi in southern Songkhla Province.

The FCDO has issued guidance recommending against all but essential journeys on the Hat Yai to Padang Besar railway route which passes through these regions. This warning stems from frequent attacks occurring in provinces along the Malaysian frontier. Additionally, travellers should avoid venturing within 20km of Thailand’s land border with Cambodia.

According to the FCDO: “In July 2025, Thailand and Cambodia fought along parts of the border. The fighting included the use of rocket and artillery fire. Tensions remain and fighting erupted again at various points along the border in early December. Land borders and crossings between Thailand and Cambodia continue to be suspended.

“Some tourist destinations in border areas such as the Khao Phra Wihan/Preah Vihear temple, the Ta Kwai/Ta Krabey temple and the Ta Muen Thom/Tamone Thom temple are closed. There are also unexploded landmines in the border area. We advise against all travel to the affected land border areas.”

The FCDO has also issued a stark reminder to British tourists about attempting to take cannabis outside Thailand’s borders, stating: “British nationals have been caught carrying cannabis out of Thailand. There have been arrests of British nationals caught transiting through airports in other countries. Many international airports have excellent technology and security for detecting illegal items, which may be used to scan the baggage of transiting passengers.”

After two decades and two stints as Walt Disney Co. boss, Bob Iger finally is hanging up the reins.

Disney this week tapped 54-year-old parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed Iger as chief executive. The handoff is set for March 18, at the company’s annual investor meeting, with Iger staying on as a senior advisor and board member until his December retirement.

The changing of the guard atop one of America’s iconic companies marks the end of an era.

History probably will remember Iger as a visionary leader who transformed Disney by reinvigorating its creative engines through a series of blockbuster acquisitions, broadening its international profile and boldly steering into treacherous streaming terrain by launching Disney+ and ESPN+ as audiences drifted from the company’s mainstay TV channels.

Iger, 74, has long been Hollywood’s most respected and inspiring studio chief, known around town simply as “Bob.”

Disney Chairman James Gorman said in an interview that Iger’s nearly 20 years in power is framed by two epochs: “Bob 1” and “Bob 2.”

After becoming CEO in 2005, Iger presided over a period of remarkable growth. Through acquisitions of Pixar Animation, Marvel Entertainment and the “Star Wars” studio, LucasFilm, the company gained blockbuster franchises and popular characters, including Captain Marvel, Baby Yoda and Sheriff Woody from “Toy Story,” to populate movie theaters and theme parks.

“Bob steadied the company and built it out,” Gorman said. “He created an absolute powerhouse.”

Simultaneously, Iger strived to preserve ABC, ESPN and the whimsical charm that spilled from founder Walt Disney’s imagination so many decades ago. Iger has treasured such animated gems as Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Winnie the Pooh, Polynesian princess Moana and more.

“The Iger era has been defined by enormous growth, an unyielding commitment to excellence in creativity and innovation, and exemplary stewardship of this iconic institution,” Gorman said in a statement on behalf of the board, adding: “We extend our deepest gratitude to Bob Iger for his extraordinary leadership and dedication to The Walt Disney Co.”

Former CEO Michael Eisner told The Times that Iger has “succeeded masterfully” at every turn.

“From ABC Sports to ABC Television Network and then at Disney, when we inherited him in the ABC/Capital Cities acquisition, Bob created success upon success,” Eisner said. “It’s why he was picked as the Disney CEO, a role that has been his greatest success … What a record!”

Iger‘s first reign ended when he stepped down as CEO in February 2020, then retired from the company 22 months later.

But that leadership handoff proved disastrous, becoming Iger’s biggest blunder — one he has since worked hard to correct.

Bob Iger passed the CEO torch to Bob Chapek in 2020.

(Business Wire)

Former parks chief Bob Chapek stepped into the big role, but he lacked stature, creative chops and support among key executives. He quickly confronted the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered Disney’s revenue machines — theme parks, movie theaters and sporting events that anchor ABC and ESPN.

Wall Street soon soured on multibillion-dollar streaming losses by Disney and traditional entertainment firms that were jumping into streaming to compete with Netflix. The company’s stock fell.

Chapek also stumbled into a political feud with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who branded Disney as “woke.” The public tussle tarnished the Burbank company’s clean image and undermined its goal of entertaining the masses, no matter their political stripes.

The board beckoned Iger back in November 2022 to quell a revolt by senior Disney executives and allay concerns among investors.

“When I came back three years ago, I had a tremendous amount that needed fixing,” Iger acknowledged during a Monday earnings call with analysts. “But anyone who runs a company also knows that it can’t just be about fixing. It has to be preparing a company for its future.”

Succession immediately became the board’s top priority with Iger then in his early 70s. But Disney’s executive bench had thinned through a series of high-level departures and the company’s expenditures had gotten out of control.

Iger restructured the company, which led to thousands of layoffs, and gave division executives financial oversight to, in Iger’s words, give them “skin in the game.”

His successor, D’Amaro, last spring recalled bringing a 250-page binder to Iger for review upon the chief’s 2022 return to the Team Disney building in Burbank. The book was stuffed with detailed updates for each component of D’Amaro’s enormous parks and experiences division.

The following day, Iger showed up at D’Amaro’s office, binder in hand.

“He pulled out one page,” D’Amaro recounted during an investor conference last year, adding that Iger said: “we have plenty of room to grow this business. We’ve got land in all of our locations around the world,” D’Amaro said. “We’ve got the stories [and] we’ve got the fans.”

That laid the seeds for Disney’s current $60-billion, 10-year investment program to expand theme parks and resorts, cruise lines and open a new venture in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. D’Amaro was put in charge of the effort, which is designed to cement Disney’s leading position in leisure entertainment. That mandate has become increasingly important to Disney amid the contraction of linear television and cable programming revenue.

Iger’s second stint as CEO wasn’t nearly as fun as the first.

He was dragged into a bitter proxy fight with two billionaire investors, who challenged his strategy, succession plans and Disney’s 2019 purchase of much of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. The move was controversial, with critics lamenting the $71-billion purchase price. Disney reduced its outlay by selling regional sports networks and other assets, but the deal left the company with significant debt just before COVID-19 hit.

The Fox deal gave Disney rights to hundreds of properties, including “Avatar,” “Deadpool” and “The Simpsons.”

Iger vanquished the proxy challenge, and this week, he again defended the Fox purchase, which gave Disney control of streaming service Hulu, National Geographic channels and FX.

“The deal we did for Fox, in many ways, was ahead of its time,” Iger said on the earnings call, noting the lofty bidding war currently underway for Warner Bros. Discovery.

“We knew that we would need more volume in terms of [intellectual property], and we did that deal,” Iger said, pointing to Disney’s deployment of its franchises beyond the big screen into its money-making theme parks. “When you look at the footprint of the business today, it’s never been more broad or more diverse.”

TD Cowen media analyst Doug Creutz still thinks the Fox deal was a dud, saying in a report: “There were plenty of value-destroying media deals before DIS-FOX, so we disagree with their assertion” despite the multiples being offered for Warner.

From left; James Gorman, chairman of the Walt Disney Co. board of directors; Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro; Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment; and Bob Iger, chief executive of the Walt Disney Co.

(Walt Disney Co.)

Iger is credited with astutely managing Disney’s image and corporate culture.

He was instrumental in resolving Hollywood’s bitter year of labor strife by negotiating truces with the Writers Guild of America and performers’ union, SAG-AFTRA, in 2023.

He has also sought to distance the company from divisive politics, albeit with limited success.

Disney agreed to pay President Trump $16 million to settle a dispute over inaccurate statements that ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos made a month after Trump was reelected. But free speech advocates howled, accusing Disney of bending to Trump.

In September, Iger led the company out of political quicksand amid an uprising of conservatives, including the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, a Trump appointee, who were riled by comments by ABC late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel in the wake of activist Charlie Kirk’s killing.

Iger maintains Disney made the decision to return Kimmel to his late-night perch independent of the political pressure from both sides.

Enormous challenges remain for D’Amaro, the incoming CEO.

He and his team, including Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden, must ensure Disney’s movies and TV shows deliver on the company’s commitment to quality, and that its streaming services — Disney+, Hulu and ESPN — rise above the competition.

In recent years, Disney’svaunted animation studios, including Pixar, have struggled to consistently release hits, though it has found success with sequels. Disney Animation’s “Zootopia 2” is now the highest-grossing U.S. animated film of all time, with worldwide box office revenue of more than $1.7 billion, and the 2024 Pixar film “Inside Out 2” hauled in nearly $1.7 billion globally.

The company also must maintain its pricey sports contracts, including with the NFL, to drive ESPN’s success. This week, Disney and the NFL finalized their deal for the league to take a 10% stake in ESPN.

And, as broadcast TV audiences continue to gray, Disney must evaluate the importance of the ABC network, where Iger got his start more than 50 years ago working behind-the-scenes for $150 a week.

Investors also are looking for D’Amaro to lift Disney’s wobbly stock, which has fallen 9% so far this year.

“The stock price doesn’t fairly reflect what [Iger] has done, but … it will,” Gorman said. “And he should get credit for it.”

In a statement Tuesday, D’Amaro expressed gratitude to Disney’s board “for entrusting me with leading a company that means so much to me and millions around the world.”

“I also want to express my gratitude to Bob Iger for his generous mentorship, his friendship, and the profound impact of his leadership,” D’Amaro said.

Times staff writer Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.

Parents who are looking to get away during the six week summer holidays could potentially save hundreds by booking during a certain week instead of planning their holidays at the start of the break

The six-week summer holidays are still a long way off, but many families will be booking their annual holiday in the coming weeks, and no doubt looking for ways to bring the price down a little.

Travelling during the school holidays is never going to be the cheapest option. Last year, research showed that a family of four will pay an additional £716 on average if they travel during a school holiday, and the big six-week holidays in July and August are when prices are hiked the highest.

But according to travel specialists, being a little flexible with your departure dates can make a big difference. Dawn Morwood, co-director of Cheap Deals Away UK, previously shared her insider knowledge: “Most people assume all summer flights are expensive, but there are specific days that offer much better value.”

READ MORE: UK family escapes £3,000 bills for £690 Greek island life and ‘feel free’READ MORE: EasyJet, Jet2 and BA cabin bag rules as big Ryanair change kicks in ahead of half term

She added: “The summer flight market follows predictable patterns. Prices peak during school holidays in late July and early August, but there are pockets of opportunity both earlier and later in the season.”

The priciest days in the summer fall on July 22, 23, and 29, when flights can cost up to 40% more on average. Therefore, if you can avoid these peak dates, you may find your holiday costs less overall. Dawn said: “If your travel dates are flexible, shifting even a day or two could save you a significant amount.”

Parents should double-check the term dates for their child’s school on GOV.UK. Some schools will place inset days in the days leading up to the school holidays, meaning it may be possible to get away a couple of days before the rush when prices rise.

Many parents are keen to get away in the first couple of weeks of the school holidays, but if you have patience, you can often get cheaper deals by booking in the last week of August. Around August 28, flight and package holiday prices tend to take a dive, but if your child isn’t back until September 4 or 5, you may be able to sneak in a few days of sunshine before the autumn term.

If you live close to the Scottish border or are willing to travel to a Scottish airport, you could potentially save money by travelling outside of the country’s summer holidays. Scottish schools break up around June 24-29 and return around mid-August in 2026. Therefore, if you are looking for a break mid to late August, departing from a Scottish airport could be a lot cheaper.

READ MORE: EasyJet, Jet2 and BA cabin bag rules as big Ryanair change kicks in ahead of half termREAD MORE: Exact hour to book last-minute February half-term holidays

As an example of how much prices can fluctuate, we looked at prices for a TUI package holiday at Zante Plaza Hotel & Apartments on an all-inclusive basis for a family of four. If they departed London Stansted on July 24, the cost would be £1156pp, but a free child place brings the total down to £3466.

However, if the same party travelled on August 28, returning September 4, the total would be £3076, saving just under £400 on the holiday cost.

For parents who are willing to risk term-time fines, Dawn says: “Early June hits that sweet spot between good weather and good prices.” However, you’d have to take into account the cost of fines, which are applied per parent per child, meaning a family of four can face four lots of penalties.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where we are freezing out butts off on this East Coast trip.

As the team continues to work its way through the Grammy trip, your usual scribe who writes this newsletter, Thuc Nhi Nguyen, is off to Milan to cover the Winter Olympics. That means you are stuck with me, Broderck Turner, for the next month to discuss the Lakers here.

Austin Reaves’ return?

At some point on this eight-game trip, the prevailing thought was that Austin Reaves would return to play after being out with a left calf strain. But we are still waiting for that to happen.

The Lakers’ last game on this trip is Tuesday at Brooklyn, meaning Reaves will have been out a little over 5 ½-weeks since the injury first occurred during the Christmas Day game against the Houston Rockets.

Reaves had been upgraded from out to questionable for the games at Washington on Friday night and the New York Knicks on Sunday, but didn’t play.

And for the Nets game Tuesday, the Lakers have listed Reaves as questionable.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said Reaves worked out on Saturday but it was not “like a stay-ready game.”

Before the Lakers played the Knicks, Redick said Reaves would be a game-time decision.

Reaves did not play, missing his 19th straight game.

“Yeah, I just would say he’s day to day, game to game, however you want to phrase it,” Redick said after the Lakers lost to the Knicks. “ We’re hopeful to have him for Tuesday, but he’s gotta feel 100% confident.”

In many ways, Reaves and the Lakers face a conundrum regarding his health.

Reaves always wants to play and the Lakers need him to play, but calf injuries can be tricky and can lead to more serious injuries if they aren’t completely healed.

Reaves had missed three games in December with a mild left calf strain, returned to play against the Suns and then went down one game later against the Rockets on Christmas.

Reaves was then diagnosed with a Grade 2 left gastrocnemius (calf) strain and was given a timeline of four to six weeks before a return to play.

Luka Doncic had been out with a calf strain for more than a month when the Lakers traded for him from the Dallas Mavericks last February.

“It’s definitely hard with a calf. I’ve been through that. It’s not an easy injury,” Doncic said Sunday night. “So, we just want him to be healthy. If he’s not ready to come back, don’t come back. But obviously, we’d love to have him out there. We can’t wait for his return.”

Reaves is averaging career-high in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2) per game. He is shooting 50.7% from the field.

His outstanding play means Reaves is in line for a big payday. The Lakers can pay him a maximum deal of five years worth about $241 million.

So, yes, Reaves is understandably being cautious.

Trade winds

Dalton Knecht is apparently being used as trade bait by the Lakers.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Two of the players people around the NBA said the Lakers had shown some interest in were traded for each other last week, leaving L.A. still searching for the right move to make … or not to make.

Cleveland traded De’Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for Keon Ellis, two wing players that had been attached to the Lakers as possible candidates to be acquired.

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at noon PST.

So, the Lakers still have time to do a deal, but people not authorized to speak publicly on the matter say teams have little interest in guards Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht, the two most prominent players the Lakers seem to be pushing.

The Lakers do have a first-round draft pick they can attach to one of them, but so far appear hesitant to make it part of a deal.

MSG nostalgia

Was this LeBron James’ final game in Madison Square Garden?

(John Munson / Associated Press)

So, after LeBron James had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Knicks, he was asked if it was weird to think that game the Lakers played the Knicks could be his last time playing in Madison Square Garden.

James, in his 23rd season, has given no indication on when he will retire.

“At the end of the day, everything has to come to an end at some point,” James said. “So, no matter what it is, it’s going to be like, ‘I’ll never play again in Madison Square Garden. I’ll never play again in certain arenas. I’ll never play again, period.’ So, at that point it doesn’t matter. You’re going to always miss it. You’re going to miss the game in general. So this one will always have a special place in the journey because it is Madison Square Garden. But yeah, when that time comes, yeah, for sure.”

On tap

Tuesday at Brooklyn (13-35), 4:30 p.m. PST

The Lakers end their eight-game trip against a Nets team that has the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. The Nets have lost eight of their last 10 games. Michael Porter Jr. leads the Nets in scoring, averaging 25.6 points per game.

Thursday vs. Philadelphia (27-21), 7 p.m.

Just as the 76ers started to play better and get healthy, Paul George was suspended 25 games without play for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. But the 76ers still have All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, who is averaging 29.2 points per game, and center Joel Embiid.

Saturday vs. Golden State (27-23), 5:30 p.m.

It has become one of the more enjoyable moments to see LeBron James and Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry, two of the NBA’s elder statesmen still flourishing, perform against each other. But Curry is dealing with a right knee injury, leaving his status unclear.

Status report

Bronny James (left lower leg soreness) is questionable and rookie forward Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) is out.

Cold, cold, cold

It was pretty cold in New York.

(Adam Gray / Associated Press)

Man, this trip has been a cold one.

Snow in Washington, D.C.

Snow in New York.

Snow when I was in Dallas, which meant it took 12 hours to get home to L.A. because of flight cancellations and delays.

How about this weather report in New York over the weekend — 20 degrees, but feels like 3. So, hearing from friends back home saying they were on the beach in shorts while I was freezing was just mean.

Survey time

It’s a hot topic in our letters basket….. Do you want LeBron James to return to the Lakers next season?

Click here to vote in our survey.

Favorite thing I ate this week

A maritozzo and a latte from illy in Italy.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

Hey, it’s Thuc Nhi here! Ciao from Milan! I made it here after one aborted landing attempt at the Charles de Gaulle airport, which forced me to sprint through the terminal after customs to catch a 70-minute connection that was more like 30 minutes. My bags didn’t catch up, but a maritozzo and a latte from illy made the wait a little sweeter. The Italian cafe chain has a location in the CityLife shopping mall across a park from the Main Press Center and after the traditional first-day Olympic activities of getting my credential validated and getting lost learning the press center layout, I definitely deserved a treat. For more Olympic adventures, you can follow me on Instagram.

In case you missed it

Despite All-Stars’ efforts, Lakers fade vs. Knicks on anniversary of Luka Doncic deal

Lakers star LeBron James named an NBA All-Star for a record 22nd time

‘We want Bronny’: Guard Bronny James shines during Lakers’ ugly loss to Cleveland

Cavaliers court raises safety concerns again as Luka Doncic injures leg

‘Like it was yesterday.’ Lakers lose in emotional return to Cleveland for LeBron James

Caitlin Clark as NBA analyst? Will she talk about praise from Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves’ return?

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at broderick.turner@latimes.com, and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that it will be a few days before a government funding package comes up for a vote, all but ensuring the partial federal shutdown will drag into the week as Democrats and Republicans debate reining in the Trump administration’s divisive immigration enforcement operations.

Johnson signaled he is relying on help from President Trump to ensure passage. Trump struck a deal with Democratic senators to separate out funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a broader package after public outrage over two shooting deaths during protests in Minneapolis against the immigration crackdown there. The measure approved Friday by the Senate would fund Homeland Security for two weeks, setting up a deadline for Congress to debate and vote on new restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

“The president is leading this,” Johnson (R-La.) said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“It’s his play call to do it this way,” the speaker said, adding that the Republican president has “already conceded that he wants to turn down the volume” on federal immigration operations.

Johnson faces a daunting challenge ahead, trying to muscle the funding legislation through the House while Democrats are refusing to provide the votes for speedy passage. They are demanding restraints on ICE that go beyond $20 million for body cameras that already is in the bill. They want to require that federal immigration agents unmask and identify themselves and are pressing for an end to roving patrols, amid other changes.

Democrats dig in on ICE changes

“What is clear is that the Department of Homeland Security needs to be dramatically reformed,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

Jeffries said the administration needs to begin negotiations now, not over the next two weeks, on changes to immigration enforcement operations.

“Masks should come off,” he said. “Judicial warrants should absolutely be required consistent with the Constitution, in our view, before DHS agents or ICE agents are breaking into the homes of the American people or ripping people out of their cars.”

It’s all forcing Johnson to rely on his slim House GOP majority — which will narrow further after a Democrat was elected to a vacant House seat in a Texas special election Saturday — in a series of procedural votes, starting in committee Monday and pushing a potential House floor vote on the package until at least Tuesday, he said.

House Democrats planned a private caucus call Sunday evening to assess the next steps.

Partial government shutdown drags on

Meanwhile, a number of other federal agencies are snared in the funding standoff as the government went into a partial shutdown over the weekend.

Defense, health, transportation and housing are among those that were given shutdown guidance by the administration, though many operations are deemed essential and services are not necessarily interrupted. Workers could go without pay if the impasse drags on. Some could be furloughed.

This is the second time in a matter of months that federal operations have been disrupted as Congress digs in, using the annual funding process as leverage to extract policy changes. In the fall, Democrats sparked what became the longest federal shutdown in history, 43 days, as they protested the expiration of health insurance tax breaks.

That shutdown ended with a promise to vote on proposals to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But the legislation did not advance and Democrats were unable to achieve their goal of keeping the subsidies in place. As a result, insurance premiums have soared in the new year for millions of people.

Trump wants quick end to shutdown

This time, the administration has signaled its interest in more quickly resolving the shutdown.

Johnson said he was in the Oval Office last week when Trump, along with border advisor Tom Homan, spoke with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York to work out the deal.

“I think we’re on the path to get agreement,” Johnson said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Body cameras for immigration agents, which are already provided for in the package, and an end to the roving patrols are areas of potential agreement, Johnson said.

But he said taking the masks off and putting names on agents’ uniforms could lead to problems for law enforcement officers as they are being targeted by the protesters and their personal information posted online.

“I don’t think the president would approve it — and he shouldn’t,” Johnson said on Fox.

Democrats, however, said the immigration operations are out of control, and it is an emergency situation that must end in Minneapolis and other cities.

Growing numbers of lawmakers are calling for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to be fired or impeached.

“What is happening in Minnesota right now is a dystopia,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who led efforts to hold the line for more changes.

“ICE is making this country less safe, not more safe today,” Murphy said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“Our focus over the next two weeks has to be reining in a lawless and immoral immigration agency.”

Mascaro writes for the Associated Press.

If 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny wins the Grammy for album of the year Sunday, it will be the first time the award goes to a Spanish-language LP. A week later the singer, known as “the King of Latin Trap,” will headline the Super Bowl halftime show.

These twin feats by one of the world’s most famous performers — a proud Latino and a vocal critic of President Trump’s stance on immigration — plays out against the heartbreaking and chaotic backdrop of the federal government’s aggressive tactics on the streets of American cities, including Minneapolis, where two citizens were shot dead by federal agents.

This is likely why a painting by an L.A.-based Puerto Rican artist named Ektor Rivera, a reimagining of Emanuel Leutze’s iconic 1852 painting, ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware,” is attracting a wave of attention online. An Instagram post about the painting by Rivera — which features Bad Bunny alongside a host of other Puerto Rican cultural heroes, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sonia Sotomayor and Tito Puente — has more than 170,000 likes and 2.3 million views, spurred in part by the fact that Ricky Martin, who is also featured in the tableau, shared it.

Titled “The Discovery of Americans,” the 5’ x 8’ acrylic-on-canvas painting was commissioned by Seth Goldberg, a talent agent who spent his career working with Latin celebrities from his homebase in Miami. In a phone interview, Golberg said he felt disappointed by the controversy that erupted after the announcement that Bad Bunny would play at the Super Bowl — particularly when people didn’t seem to realize that as a Puerto Rican the singer is an American.

A detail of “The Discovery of Americans,” Ektor Rivera, acrylic on canvas, 2025.

(Ektor Rivera)

“And I thought that maybe if we reframe that Leutze painting with these cultural icons, maybe it changes who we see and celebrate as American, or at least makes a few people think about it a little more,” Goldberg said.

Rivera, who met Goldberg at a dinner with his manager five years ago, ran with the idea, placing a cast of Puerto Rican luminaries in the famous rowboat alongside Bad Bunny — who is draped in the Puerto Rican flag and standing in Washington’s place.

“As a Puerto Rican, I have U.S. citizenship, but I’m still asked if I have my green card,” Rivera said in a recent phone interview. “The people who voluntarily don’t want to learn about the great aportación [contributions] Latinos are giving to this country, and in my case, Puerto Ricans, is really frustrating, and how ICE is dealing with our people is something that is very sad.”

It is notable in the painting that the boat is literally breaking the ice on the river as it moves across the water, Rivera said.

Rivera — a graduate of the School of Plastic Arts and Design of Puerto Rico — is also an actor. He starred in a Puerto Rican production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s early musical, “In the Heights,” during which time he met the famous actor and composer. Miranda and his father, Luis Miranda, later commissioned Rivera to paint a portrait of Rita Moreno, which now hangs in Centro de Bellas Artes de Santurce in San Juan.

The joy Moreno showed when the painting was unveiled has stayed with Rivera, who now lives and works in Santa Clarita. He is raising his children to know and love their Latin heritage — during a trying time when Latinos are often denigrated by the current administration.

Trump recently told the New York Post that he won’t be going to the Super Bowl this year, noting of Bad Bunny and the band Green Day, which will open the telecast, that he is “anti-them.”

“I think it’s a terrible choice,” Trump said. “All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”

In Rivera’s painting, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara — where the Super Bowl will take place this year — can be seen on the horizon. Those in the boat are smiling. They are looking forward to being part of the mix. It’s a loving representation, filled with hope and possibility.

“We’re celebrating that we are putting our identity as Latinos on one of the major stages in the world,” said Rivera. “And that’s huge. That’s going to educate people, and make them interested.”

America, Rivera said, is not just for certain people.

“America is everybody. America is the world.”

I’m arts editor Jessica Gelt and I’ll be rooting for Bad Bunny at the Grammys this weekend. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.

On our radar

“Creation” by Harmonia Rosales, 2025. Oil, gold leaf, gold paint and iron oxide on panel. 121.9 × 91.4 cm (48 × 36 in.).

(© Harmonia Rosales/ Elon Schoenholz Photography)

Beginnings: The Story of Creation in the Middle Ages
The Getty exhibition explores how people in the Middle Ages imagined the creation of the world through manuscripts, alongside works by LA-based artist Harmonia Rosales, who utilizes West African Yoruba mythology and Black resilience and identity.

Through April 19. J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu

Tiffany Townsend performs Saturday and Sunday in Long Beach.

(Mia McNeal)

Crash Out Queens: A Tiffany Townsend Recital
The soprano officially kicks off the Long Beach Opera’s season with an exploration of women in opera that expands into a multidisciplinary collaboration with pianist Lucy Yates, dancer Jasmine Albuquerque, scenic designer Prairie T. Trivuth and more.
7:30 p.m. Saturday; 4 p.m. Sunday. Altar Society, 230 Pine Ave. in Long Beach. longbeachopera.org

Midori Francis and Noah Keyishian rehearsing for “Sylvia Sylvia Syvia” at Geffen Playhouse.

(Jeff Lorch)

Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia
A woman struggling with writer’s block and her own husband’s literary success takes refuge in the Boston apartment once occupied by Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes in the world premiere of this tragicomic thriller from playwright Beth Hyland. Directed by Jo Bonney.
Wednesday through March 8. Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. geffenplayhouse.org

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

Soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha appears with the L.A. Phil Friday and Saturday.

(LA Phil)

Mahler, Bartók & Ravel
Dudamel Fellow Elim Chan conducts the L.A. Phil in a program culminating with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony featuring South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha.
11 a.m. Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Miles Davis Centennial Concert
The Miles Electric Band, led by Emmy- and Grammy Award-winning producer/drummer Vince Wilburn Jr., features a fusion of Miles Davis alumni and next-generation talents, including Darryl Jones, Robert Irving III, Munyungo Jackson, Jean-Paul Bourelly, Antoine Roney, Keyon Harrold and DJ Logic, plus special guests.
8 p.m. Friday. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org

Lifeline
Written by Robert Axelrod and directed by Ken Sawyer, this drama finds a mother volunteering at a suicide hotline following a life-altering event.
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, through March 1. The Road Theatre, NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd. roadtheatre.org

101 Dalmatians
The 65th anniversary release of the Disney animated classic gets a one-week run in movie palace splendor. Tickets are $10 and include a complimentary small popcorn.
10 a.m., 1, 4 and 7 p.m. daily, through Thursday. El Capitan Theatre, 6838 Hollywood Blvd. elcapitantheatre.com

“metal mettle metal mettle” by Steve Roden, 2020. Acrylic with paper collage

(Robert Wedemeyer/Courtesy Vielmetter Los Angeles)

Steve Roden/Sophie Calle
A pair of new exhibitions open today in Orange County: ‘Wandering” focuses on the late Los Angeles–based artist Steve Roden’s works on paper, presenting drawings and collages as forms of travel without a set destination; and “Overshare” is a survey of French conceptual artist Sophie Calle’s photography, text, video and installation work that mines intimate relationships and chance encounters.
Through May 24. UC Irvine Langson/Orange County Museum of Art, 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. ocma.art

Sweeney Todd
Jason Alexander directs Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical thriller about the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and has assembled a topflight cast led by Tony nominee Will Swenson and Olivier Award winner Lesli Margherita.
Through Feb. 22. La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd. lamiradatheatre.com

SATURDAY
Garrick Ohlsson and Richard O’Neill
Pianist Ohlsson and violist O’Neill team up for an evening of Schubert and Rachmaninoff.
7:30 p.m. Saturday. Broad Stage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. broadstage.org

SUNDAY
Common Ground
The Los Angeles Master Chorale performs the world premiere of “The Beatitudes” by five-time Emmy Award-winning composer Jeff Beal, who will play the piano and flugelhorn, and Henryk Górecki’s “Miserere,” inspired by the 1980s Polish Solidarity movement.
7 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org

TUESDAY

Jacob Aune, left, and Sam McLellan in the North American tour of “The Book of Mormon.”

(Julieta Cervantes)

The Book of Mormon
The latest national tour of the Broadway smash comes to town. When the show had its L.A. debut at the Pantages in 2012, Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote, “Just know that this exceedingly naughty, though in the end disarmingly nice, show is devised by the minds behind ‘South Park’ and that risqué ‘Sesame Street’ for theater-loving adults, ‘Avenue Q.’ In other words, leave the kids at home with a baby-sitter”
Through Feb. 15. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Feb 24-25. The Granada Theatre, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. thebookofmormontour.com

Adams, Cheung & Lanao
John Adams curates the third installment of the LA Phil Etudes, highlighting the orchestra’s principal musicians in solo pieces by contemporary composers Francisco Coll, Samuel Adams, Nico Muhly, Sílvia Lanao and Anthony Cheung.
8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Dr. Strangelove
Steve Coogan plays four roles in this screening of the National Theatre stage adaptation of the 1964 Stanley Kubrick film recorded live in London.
7 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd. Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

THURSDAY

Cheyenne Jackson plays the Wallis Thursday night.

(Vince Truspin)

Cheyenne Jackson
The Broadway heartthrob performs a “musical memoir” with tunes made famous by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Sam Smith and Chappell Roan, plus his own song “Ok,” detailing his father’s unconditional love for his gay son.
7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd. Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

— Kevin Crust

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Eddie Izzard brings Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to Los Angeles in a new solo staging, adapted by Mark Izzard and directed by Selina Cadell.

(Carol Rosegg)

Eddie channels tragedy
Times theater critic Charles McNulty weighed in on the gender-fluid British comedian Eddie Izzard’s solo performance of “Hamlet,” running through Sunday at the Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood. McNulty calls the show “a daredevil feat of memory, theatrical bravado and cardio fitness,” noting that, “As a spectacle, it’s as exhilarating as it is exhausting. The thrill of seeing a fearless, indefatigable performer single-handedly populate the stage with the myriad figures of this masterwork never lets up. But fatigue can’t help setting in once it becomes clear that this marathon drama will be delivered in the broadest of strokes.”

Father and son
McNulty also headed to Matrix Theatre’s Henry Murray Stage to catch a Rogue Machine world premiere of L.A. writer Justin Tanner’s solo show, “My Son the Playwright.” McNulty calls Tanner “one of the signal voices of L.A.’s wild and free intimate theater scene.” The show is divided into two acts, one that presents the father’s side of the relationship, and the other, the son’s. “Tanner plunges into these ostentatiously autobiographical roles, heedlessly, hectically and without a psychiatric net,” McNulty writes.

Academy cuts
Arts and entertainment writer Malia Mendez got the scoop that the Academy Foundation laid off all five staffers with its Oral History Projects team, “effectively dissolving the department responsible for conducting and preserving interviews with notable members of the film industry.” In a statement posted on social media, the Academy Foundation Workers Union, AFSCME Local 126, called the cuts “a sad and reckless choice.” (Also, two of the laid-off staffers were placed in other roles in the organization.)

Breaking Glass
I jumped on the news that composer Philip Glass abruptly canceled June’s world premiere of his Symphony No. 15 “Lincoln” at the Kennedy Center, saying its message does not align with the vision for the venue under the Trump administration. “Symphony No. 15 is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony. Therefore, I feel an obligation to withdraw this Symphony premiere from the Kennedy Center under its current leadership,” Glass wrote Tuesday in a letter to the board that was shared with The Times.

The hits keep coming
Speaking of the Kennedy Center: As the artistic losses continue to mount at the beleaguered performing arts center in the wake of President Trump’s takeover — and renaming — of the venue, the Washington Post reported that Kevin Couch, who was recently announced as the new senior vice president of artistic programming for the venue, resigned less than two weeks later. No reason was given, and Couch declined a Post request for comment.

50 is nifty
In happier local news, San Diego’s Opera Neo — a summer opera festival and young artist training program — celebrating its 50th anniversary season, and has announced its upcoming lineup. Highlights include Antonio Vivaldi’s, “Arsilda,” Louise Bertin’s “Fausto” and Gioachino Rossini’s “Il turco in Italia.”

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

I am resurfacing this handy 2023 guide to the best Italian sub sandwiches in L.A. It is not a coincidence that I am hungry and planning what to eat for lunch.

A look at The Times’ top 25 boys’ basketball rankings for the Southland after Week 11.

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. SIERRA CANYON (21-1): Hosts Loyola on Tuesday; 1

2. REDONDO UNION (24-3): Plays at Mira Costa on Tuesday; 2

3. SANTA MARGARITA (24-3): No. 2 seed in Trinity League tournament; 4

4. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (18-6): Hosts Crespi on Tuesday in Mission League semifinal; 5

5. ST. JOHN BOSCO (19-6): Top seed in Trinity League tournament; 3

6. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (22-5): Wolverines have lost three of their last four games; 5

7. LA MIRADA (21-6): Matadores can enter playoffs with a 14-game win streak; 7

8. DAMIEN (26-4): Hosts Etiwanda for Baseline League title on Tuesday; 8

9. CORONA DEL MAR (26-1): At Newport Harbor on Monday; 9

10. CORONA CENTENNIAL (24-5): Playing in Big VIII League championship game; 10

11. ETIWANDA (25-2): Rematch with Damien on Tuesday; 11

12. CRESPI (19-10): Wins over Loyola, Harvard-Westlake give Celts playoff spot; 13

13. VILLAGE CHRISTIAN (21-6): Needs win over Maranatha for Olympic League title; 11

14. INGLEWOOD (24-5): Jason Crowe Jr. is averaging 44.1 points; 14

15. CREAN LUTHERAN (21-7): Crestview League champion; 15

16. JSERRA (17-11): Big win over Mater Dei thanks to Jaden Bailes; 17

17. LOS ALAMITOS (18-9): Tyler Lopez having all-league season; 18

18. BRENTWOOD (24-3): Big wins over Crossroads, Windward, Campbell Hall; 24

19. LOYOLA (15-14): Win over St. Francis put Cubs in playoffs; 25

20. ST. FRANCIS (21-8): Two losses to Loyola put Golden Knights on the bubble; 20

21. ORANGE LUTHERAN (18-8): Win over St. John Bosco changes everything; NR

22. ELSINORE (26-0): Unbeaten regular season within reach; 22

23. ROLLING HILLS PREP (21-6): Set for Division 1 playoffs; 23

24. MIRA COSTA (23-4): Can Mustangs put up a fight vs. Redondo Union?; 21

25. SAN GABRIEL ACADEMY (17-8): Faces Pacifica Christian on Monday; 16

From farmers protesting in Europe against a trade agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur to deadly attacks in Pakistan’s Balochistan province that killed nearly 200 people and demonstrations in Cuba opposing threats by the United States, here is a look at the week in photos.

WASHINGTON — President Trump moved quickly this week to negotiate with Democrats to avert a lengthy government shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding, a sharp departure from last year’s record standoff, when he refused to budge for weeks.

Some Republicans are frustrated with the deal, raising the possibility of a prolonged shutdown fight when the House returns Monday to vote on the funding package. But Trump’s sway over the GOP remains considerable, and he has made his position clear at a moment of mounting political strain.

“The only thing that can slow our country down is another long and damaging government shutdown,” Trump wrote on social media late Thursday.

The urgency marked a clear shift from Trump’s posture during the 43-day shutdown late last year, when he publicly antagonized Democratic leaders and his team mocked them on social media. This time, with anger rising over shootings in Minneapolis and the GOP’s midterm messaging on tax cuts drowned out by controversy, Trump acted quickly to make a deal with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

“Trump and the Republicans know that this is an issue where they’re on the wrong side of the American people and it really matters,” Schumer told reporters Friday after Senate passage of the government funding deal.

Crisis after Minneapolis killings

Senators returned to work this week dealing with the fallout from the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers, as well as the killing of Renee Good in the city weeks earlier.

Republicans were far from unified in their response. A few called for the firing of top administration officials such as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller, the White House chief of staff for policy. Most GOP senators tried to strike a balance, calling for a thorough investigation into Pretti’s killing while backing the hard-line immigration approach that is central to Trump’s presidency.

But many agreed that the shootings threatened public support for Trump’s immigration agenda.

“I’ve never seen a political party take its best issue and turn it into its worst issue in the period of time that it has happened in the last few weeks,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. “Some things have to change.”

Democrats quickly coalesced around their key demands.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said there “was unanimity” around core principles of enforcing a code of conduct for immigration officers and agents, ending “roving patrols” for immigration enforcement actions and coordinating with local law enforcement on immigration arrests.

It helped that Trump himself was looking for ways to de-escalate in Minneapolis.

“The world has seen the videos of those horrible abuses by DHS and rogue operations catching up innocent people, and there’s a revulsion about it,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said.

“The White House is asking for a ladder off the ledge,” he added.

The painful politics of shutdown

Republicans are also trying to promote their accomplishments in office as they ready for the November midterms and the difficult task of retaining control of both chambers of Congress.

But the prospect of a prolonged shutdown shifted attention away from their $4.5-trillion tax and spending cuts law, the centerpiece of their agenda. Republicans had hoped the beginning of this year’s tax season on Monday would provide a political boost as voters begin to see larger tax refunds.

Republicans are also mindful of the political damage from last year’s shutdown, when they took a slightly larger portion of the blame from Americans than Democrats, according to polling from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

“The shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans,” Trump told Republican senators at the White House in November.

On a practical level, this funding standoff threatened to destroy months of bipartisan work, including long hours over the holiday break, to craft the 12 spending bills that fund the government and many priorities back home.

“We saw what happened in the last government shutdown in regards to how it hurt real, hardworking Americans,” said Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “I don’t want that to happen again.”

A two-week funding battle begins

The agreement reached this week, if passed by the House, would avoid a prolonged shutdown and fund nearly every federal department through the end of the budget year in September. But it would not resolve one of the most difficult issues for Congress and the White House: Homeland Security funding.

Instead of a full-year deal, funding for the department was extended for just two weeks, giving lawmakers little time to bridge the deep divides over immigration enforcement.

Democrats are pressing for changes they say are necessary to prevent future abuses, including requiring immigration agents to wear body cameras, carry clear identification, end roving patrols in cities and coordinate more closely with local law enforcement when making arrests. Many Democrats also want tighter rules around warrants and accountability mechanisms for officers in the field.

Those demands have met stiff resistance from Republicans. Some are opposed to negotiating with Democrats at all.

“Republicans control the White House, Senate and House. Why are we giving an inch to Democrats?” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) wrote on social media.

Republican senators said they would take the fight to Democrats by introducing their own bills, including restrictions on “sanctuary cities,” to show their support for Trump’s policies. That term is generally applied to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

“We’ve let the issue get away. We’re not leading. We’re trying to avoid losing rather than winning,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who held up the spending bills until Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) agreed to give him a vote on his sanctuary cities bill at a later date.

Thune acknowledged the difficulty of the next two weeks, saying that there are “some pretty significant views and feelings.”

“We’ll stay hopeful,” Thune told reporters about the upcoming fight. “But there are some pretty significant differences of opinion.”

Cappelletti and Groves write for the Associated Press. AP writers Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did something this week that would have been unthinkable three years ago — she took an unprompted swipe at her counterparts in L.A. County.

Bass, while weighing in on L.A.’s so-called “mansion tax,” dinged the county for creating what she called a “bureaucratic” homelessness agency, saying it threatened to undermine the city’s progress on the crisis.

County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath hit back hard, telling Bass on X that the county created the new agency because the existing one — which is partly overseen by Bass appointees — was incapable of tracking its spending.

“The County is fixing the problems you’ve ignored,” Horvath said.

Things have been bad between Bass and Horvath for more than a year, with the two Democrats taking veiled, and sometimes not-so-veiled, swipes at each other. But could they become adversaries in the truest sense of the word — as head-to-head rivals in this year’s mayoral election?

Horvath, who has spent months lining up endorsements for her own reelection campaign, has until Saturday to decide whether to enter the mayor’s race, challenging Bass’ bid for a second term. She told The Times she is seriously weighing a run — and “spending the weekend in deep reflection” with friends and family.

“From a young age, my faith has guided me through the most important moments of my life,” said Horvath, who is Catholic. “This is one of those moments.”

Bass, who is running in the June 2 primary for a second term, is already facing challenges from reality television star Spencer Pratt, former school superintendent Austin Beutner and community organizer Rae Huang, who has focused heavily on housing issues. Still, a Horvath bid would reshape the contest dramatically.

Beutner has not campaigned publicly since Jan. 5, one day before his 22-year-old daughter died of undetermined causes. Real estate developer Rick Caruso opted on Jan. 16 to stay out of the race, after sharply criticizing Bass for more than a year.

On paper, a Horvath mayoral bid looks somewhat risky. If she takes the plunge, she would no longer be permitted to seek reelection to her supervisorial seat, representing about 2 million people on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley. Bass has been raising money for more than a year and has locked up key endorsements, including the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

If she runs, Horvath would face questions about the county’s difficulties, including a $4-billion legal payout over sexual abuse that has been marred by fraud allegations and a screwup surrounding Measure G, the 2024 ballot measure that will expand the number of county supervisors but also is on track to inadvertently repeal a criminal justice reform measure.

On top of that, there’s the secret $2-million payout to the county’s top executive.

Horvath said she’s seen recent polling that makes clear that “there’s an appetite for change” among Angelenos. Community leaders, residents of her supervisorial district and “those longing for a better Los Angeles” have been asking her to run, she said.

“I am listening carefully and seriously both to those who are urging me to enter this race, and to those who are eager to continue the work we have begun together at the County,” she said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Bass campaign said he does not comment on prospective candidates. Pratt, for his part, said he’s rooting for Horvath to jump in so that “voters can see two career politicians calling each other out for the failed policies they both promoted.”

“Lindsey Horvath and Karen Bass are both responsible for the decline of our city, and the more they talk about each other, the more the public will see why we need a complete reset,” he said in a statement.

Even if Horvath doesn’t run, it looks like her relationship with the mayor will be rocky for the foreseeable future. The first-term supervisor has emerged as one of Bass’ most outspoken critics, highlighting an array of issues at City Hall.

Earlier this month, Horvath told The Times that she hears regularly from Angelenos who complain that they’re not getting basic services. She said that support within City Hall for Inside Safe, the mayor’s program to combat homelessness, is eroding.

Horvath has also taken aim at the city’s response to the Palisades fire, pointing out in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom that the Fire Department’s after-action report was watered down and then disavowed by its author. A day later, she told CBS2 that Bass was not being truthful about the county’s new homelessness agency.

Bass also has her own bully pulpit. On Friday, she stood outside federal court and railed against the indictment of independent journalist Don Lemon, calling it an “assault on our democracy.” Prosecutors have accused Lemon of violating federal law while reporting on a protest inside a Minnesota church.

The strained relations between Bass and Horvath are noteworthy given the mayor’s heavy focus on collaboration early on in her administration, when she triumphantly declared she was “locking arms” with a wide array of elected officials — including county supervisors — in the fight against homelessness.

Bass has attempted to stay above the fray, mostly avoiding direct conflict with other politicians — at least in public. But the Palisades fire, which destroyed thousands of homes and left 12 people dead, showed things weren’t always amiable behind the scenes.

Two weeks after the fires, Horvath and Bass were at odds over their joint public appearances, with Horvath complaining via text message that the mayor’s approach didn’t feel “very ‘locked arms.’”

Months later, Horvath and her colleagues on the Board of Supervisors voted to pull hundreds of millions of dollars from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, moving the money to the new county homelessness agency.

Horvath said the change was urgently needed in the wake of highly damaging reports about LAHSA’s financial oversight. Bass, in turn, warned the move would create a “monumental disruption” for the city’s effort to bring unhoused residents indoors.

Last month, Bass published an opinion piece in the Daily News criticizing the county, pointing out that its new homelessness agency was already proposing cuts to programs that have served the city’s unhoused population.

Bass echoed that criticism in a recent interview, saying the cuts were proposed a year after voters approved a half-cent sales tax to fund homeless services.

Those reductions, if enacted, would scale back the operations of A Pathway Home, the county’s counterpart to Inside Safe.

“We are going to do the best we can without a full partner in the county,” Bass said.

Horvath, for her part, said she wants to scale back A Pathway Home because it is too costly — and is not achieving the success that county officials want.

State of play

— BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD: City Councilmember Nithya Raman fell short in her attempt to send voters a ballot proposal rewriting Measure ULA, the tax on property sales of $5.3 million and up. Councilmembers said they did not even want to discuss the idea until it had been vetted by her committee.

— PIT BULL PAYOUT: The city paid more than $3 million last year to a woman who adopted a dog from the South L.A. animal shelter, only to have it attack her two days later. She later found out the dog had bitten a grandmother’s face. The case is raising questions about the way some shelter dogs are promoted on Instagram and other platforms.

— HEADING TO TRIAL: After a weeklong hearing, a judge ruled on Wednesday that the criminal case against Councilmember Curren Price can proceed to trial. Price, who has been charged with embezzlement, perjury and violations of conflict-of-interest laws, is slated to leave office in December. His lawyer said he did not act with “wrongful intent.”

— CLEARING CASES: Los Angeles police solved more than two thirds of homicides citywide in 2025, in a year that ended with the fewest number of slayings in six decades, according to figures released Thursday.

— GIVING TO GIBSON DUNN: The council signed off on a $1.8-million increase to its legal contract with Gibson Dunn, which is representing the city in the seemingly endless L.A. Alliance case. The increase, which passed on a 9-4 vote, brings the contract to nearly $7.5 million.

— PAYOUT PAUSE: Los Angeles County will halt some payments from its $4-billion sex-abuse settlement, as prosecutors ramp up their probe into allegations of fraud.

— LAPD VS. PROTESTER: A tense exchange between an LAPD captain and one of the Police Department’s most outspoken critics has gone viral.

— BATTLING TRUMP, PART 1: President Trump signed an executive order to allow victims of the Los Angeles wildfires to rebuild without obtaining “unnecessary, duplicative, or obstructive” permits. The order, which is likely to be challenged by the city and state, was immediately derided by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said Trump should provide FEMA relief.

— BATTLING TRUMP, PART 2: Trump also vowed to fight the construction of new low-income housing in the Pacific Palisades burn area. L.A. officials say no projects are planned.

Quick hits

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to fight homelessness went to the area around Gage Avenue at St. Andrews Place, located in the South L.A. district represented by Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
• On the docket next week: Bass delivers the first of her two State of the City speeches, which has been billed as a “unifying celebration of Los Angeles.”

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

An exciting yet excruciating playoff loss to the Seahawks doesn’t diminish the Rams’ accomplishments this season. Their ability in coming back to win so many games that appeared lost showcased their resilience time after time, week after week. Thanks for the memories.

Marty Zweben
Palos Verdes Estates

When are the Rams and coach Sean McVay going to stop ignoring special teams? Open the checkbook and hire the best special teams coach available. They also need to draft a shutdown corner or two. You don’t need another receiver.

Russell Hosaka
Torrance

Editor’s note: The team hired Raymond “Bubba” Ventrone as special teams coordinator.

So Bill Plaschke wants to put the blame on the Rams’ loss in the NFC title game solely on Sean McVay? The defense’s atrocious cornerbacks don’t deserve most of the blame? And Plaschke’s blood-boiling need to make the grand statement way before anything is certain doesn’t prove the Plaschke Curse is alive and well? He not only jinxed them once but twice. They lost to Seattle and lost control of the No. 1 seed immediately after the first prediction they’d go to the Super Bowl and then lost again to Seattle after the second. Will someone please take this guy’s laptop away from him until the Rams actually make the Super Bowl!?!?!

Danny Balber Jr.
Pasadena

Bill Plaschke in his column blames the decisions made by coach McVay, which have some merit, for the Rams losing in the NFC championship game. Of course, there is no mention of the prediction made by Plaschke the week before about the Rams winning quite confidently and going on to Super Bowl LX. The Rams and McVay never had a real chance being under the Plaschke curse.

Wayne Muramatsu
Cerritos

I can only hope that if I ever decide to enter a sporting competition, Bill Plaschke predicts I will not win it.

Andrew Sacks
Riverside

My dad used to tell me to only watch the end of NBA games, because they are always tied going into the last minute. The NFL is now very much like that, as evidenced by most of this season’s playoff games. And I wouldn’t have it any other way! While I’m bummed about the Rams’ finish, here’s to 2025-26, the best NFL season in recent memory.

Robert Gary
Westlake Village

Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

This week’s second caption reads:

The Launch Control Center, with blast door at left, underground at the Oscar-1 Minuteman Missile Alert Facility on Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, June 18, 2020. The Oscar-01 MAF was constructed in 1963 and determined to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) by Missouri SHPO in 1998. The facility consists of a one-story surface structure, assembled as a Launch Control Support Building (LCSB), and two sub-surface, re-enforced concrete encapsulated steel pods- a Launch Control Center (LCC) and Launch Control Equipment Building (LCEB). These two sub-surface wings are connected by a Tunnel Junction and accessed by an elevator. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander W. Riedel) 

Also, a reminder:

Prime Directives!

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• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

WASHINGTON — A budget impasse in Congress is poised to halt large swaths of federal operations early Saturday as lawmakers in Capitol Hill turn to the next flashpoint in negotiations to reopen the government: whether to impose new limits on federal immigration authorities carrying out President Trump’s deportation campaign.

Over the next two weeks, Democrats and Republicans will weigh competing demands on how the Department of Homeland Security should carry out arrests, detention and deportations after the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents this month in Minnesota.

Seeking to rein in the federal agency, Senate Democrats late on Thursday were able to strike a deal with the White House that would temporarily fund the Department of Homeland Security but fund the Pentagon, the State Department, as well as the health, education, labor and transportation agencies through Sept. 30.

The agreement is intended to give lawmakers more time to address Democratic demands to curb ICE tactics while averting a partial government shutdown.

The Senate finalized the deal Friday evening on a 71-29 vote, hours before a midnight deadline to avert a government shutdown. Passage of the deal was delayed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who objected to parts of the package.

The House expected to take up the legislation as early as Monday. The partial government shutdown will occur until the measure clears the House and Trump signs it into law.

The president supports the deal, which came after Senate Democrats said they would not vote to fund Homeland Security unless reforms for the agency were approved. Among the demands: banning federal agents from wearing masks, requiring use of body cameras and requiring use of judicial warrants prior to searching homes and making arrests.

Democrats have also demanded that local and state law enforcement officials be given the ability to conduct independent investigations in cases where federal agents are accused of wrongdoing.

The deal, however, does not include any of those reforms; it includes only the promise of more time to negotiate with no guarantee that the new restrictions will be agreed to.

Both of California’s Democratic senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, voted against the Senate deal. They both opposed giving more funding to Homeland Security without reforms in a vote Thursday.

Schiff voted no because he said he promised to not “give another dime for ICE until we saw real reforms — and not just promised reforms but statutory requirements.”

“I want to see those reforms before I am prepared to support any more funding for these agencies,” Schiff said in a video message posted on X, and added that he did not see the White House acting in “good faith. “I want it in writing and statute.”

After voting against the measure, Padilla said in a statement: “I’ve been clear from the beginning: No more money for ICE and CBP without real oversight and accountability.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters Friday morning that Democrats will find out whether two weeks is enough time to reach a compromise.

“We will evaluate whether that is sufficient time,” Jeffries said. “But there is urgency to dealing with this issue because ICE as we have seen is out of control.”

Meanwhile, the absence of reforms in the Senate deal has already drawn concerns from some progressives, who argue the deal falls short of what is needed to rein in federal immigration enforcement.

“First of all, I’m actually disappointed that Senate leadership is not right now demanding more,” Rep. Robert Garcia, a top-ranking House Democrat from Long Beach, told reporters Friday. “This idea that we’re somehow going to continue to fund this agency and somehow just extend the pain, I think is absolutely wrong.”

Garcia said it was “outrageous” that the Senate deal would extend funding for Homeland Security for two weeks without any new requirements.

“This idea that we’re somehow not demanding immediately the removal of masks and body cameras and all the other reforms while eliminating this agency that’s causing harm, I think, is outrageous,” Garcia said.

Democratic Rep. Judy Chu of Pasadena said in a statement that she had not yet decided whether to support the Senate deal once it reaches the House floor.

But, Chu added: “I cannot support legislation that increases funding to this agency while delivering no accountability measures.”

Rep. Kevin Calvert (R-Corona) said in a statement that it is “critical” for lawmakers to pass the bipartisan spending package, in part because it included funding for the U.S. military.

“As Chairman of the [House] Defense Appropriation Subcommittee, I’m especially concerned about the negative impacts of a shutdown at a time when we have a buildup of American military assets in the Middle East,” Calvert said.

Calvert added that Homeland Security operations will continue even in the shutdown because lawmakers provided an influx of funding for the agency in last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” But he said he worried that any lapse in funding would affect other operations by the agency, including disaster funding and security assistance for major events, such as the upcoming World Cup.

“We need to get these priorities funded,” he said.

Other Republican lawmakers have already signaled the possible hurdles Democrats will face as they try to rein in ICE.

Graham held up consideration of the Senate deal, in part because he wanted the Senate to vote to criminalize local and state officials in sanctuary cities — a term that has no strict definition but that generally describes local jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

“You can convince me that ICE can be better, but I don’t think I will ever convince you to abandon sanctuary cities because you’re wedded to it on the Democratic side,” Graham said.

Graham also delayed passage of the deal because it included a repeal of a law that would have allowed senators — including himself — to sue the government if federal investigators gained access to their phones without notifying them. The law required senators to be notified if that were to happen and sue for up to $50,000 in damages per incident.

“We’ll fix the $500,000 — count me in — but you took the notification out,” Graham said. “I am demanding a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

Other Senate Republicans also expressed concern with Democrats’ demands, even as Trump seemed to try appease them.

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said the demand for federal agents to remove their masks during operations was a “clear and obvious attempt to intimidate and put our federal agents in harm’s way.”

“When enforcement becomes dangerous for enforcers, enforcement does not survive,” Schmitt said in a Senate floor speech. “What emerges is not reform, it is amnesty by default.”

Despite the GOP opposition, most Senate Republicans were poised to join Democrats on Friday and vote for the deal. But there is no certainty that they will join the minority party when negotiations resume in the coming weeks.

Recent history suggests that bipartisan support at the outset does not guarantee a lasting deal, particularly when unresolved policy disputes remain. The last government shutdown tied to a debate over healthcare exposed how quickly negotiations can collapse when no agreement is reached.

In November, a small group of Democrats voted with Republicans to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history with the promise of negotiating an extension to healthcare tax credits that were set to expire in the new year.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), a former House speaker, reminded the public on Friday that Democrats were unable to get Republican support for extending the tax credits, resulting in increasing healthcare costs for millions of Americans.

“House Democrats passed a bipartisan fix, yet Senate Republicans continue to block this critical relief for millions of Americans,” Pelosi wrote in a post on X.

Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.

MINNEAPOLIS — When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flooded Minneapolis, Shane Mantz dug his Choctaw Nation citizenship card out of a box on his dresser and slid it into his wallet.

Some strangers mistake the pest-control company manager for Latino, he said, and he fears getting caught up in ICE raids.

Like Mantz, many Native Americans are carrying tribal documents proving their U.S. citizenship in case they are stopped or questioned by federal immigration agents. This is why dozens of the 575 federally recognized Native nations are making it easier to get tribal IDs. They’re waiving fees, lowering the age of eligibility — ranging from 5 to 18 nationwide — and printing the cards faster.

It’s the first time tribal IDs have been widely used as proof of U.S. citizenship and protection against federal law enforcement, said David Wilkins, an expert on Native politics and governance at the University of Richmond.

“I don’t think there’s anything historically comparable,” Wilkins said. “I find it terribly frustrating and disheartening.”

As Native Americans around the country rush to secure documents proving their right to live in the United States, many see a bitter irony.

“As the first people of this land, there’s no reason why Native Americans should have their citizenship questioned,” said Jaqueline De León, a senior staff attorney with the nonprofit Native American Rights Fund and member of Isleta Pueblo.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to more than four requests for comment over a week.

Native identity in a new age of fear

Since the mid- to late 1800s, the U.S. government has kept detailed genealogical records to estimate Native Americans’ fraction of “Indian blood” and determine their eligibility for healthcare, housing, education and other services owed under federal legal responsibilities. Those records were also used to aid federal assimilation efforts and chip away at tribal sovereignty, communal lands and identity.

Beginning in the late 1960s, many tribal nations began issuing their own forms of identification. In the last two decades, tribal photo ID cards have become commonplace and can be used to vote in tribal elections, to prove U.S. work eligibility and for domestic air travel.

About 70% of Native Americans today live in urban areas, including tens of thousands in the Twin Cities, one of the largest urban Native populations in the country.

There, in early January, a top ICE official announced the “largest immigration operation ever.”

Masked, heavily armed agents traveling in convoys of unmarked SUVs became commonplace in some neighborhoods. By this week, more than 3,400 people had been arrested, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At least 2,000 ICE officers and 1,000 Border Patrol officers were on the ground.

Representatives from at least 10 tribes traveled hundreds of miles to Minneapolis — the birthplace of the American Indian Movement — to accept ID applications from members there. Among them were the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwe of Wisconsin, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of South Dakota and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of North Dakota.

Turtle Mountain citizen Faron Houle renewed his tribal ID card and got his young adult son’s and his daughter’s first ones.

“You just get nervous,” Houle said. “I think [ICE agents are] more or less racial profiling people, including me.”

Events in downtown coffee shops, hotel ballrooms, and at the Minneapolis American Indian Center helped urban tribal citizens connect and share resources, said Christine Yellow Bird, who directs the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation’s satellite office in Fargo, ND.

Yellow Bird made four trips to Minneapolis in recent weeks, putting nearly 2,000 miles on her 2017 Chevy Tahoe to help citizens in the Twin Cities who can’t make the long journey to their reservation.

Yellow Bird said she always keeps her tribal ID with her.

“I’m proud of who I am,” she said. “I never thought I would have to carry it for my own safety.”

Some Native Americans say ICE is harassing them

Last year, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said that several tribal citizens reported being stopped and detained by ICE officers in Arizona and New Mexico. He and other tribal leaders have advised citizens to carry tribal IDs with them at all times.

Last November, Elaine Miles, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon and an actress known for her roles in “Northern Exposure” and “The Last of Us,” said she was stopped by ICE officers in Washington state who told her that her tribal ID looked fake.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe this week banned ICE from its reservation in southwestern South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska, one of the largest in the country.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota said a member was detained in Minnesota last weekend. And Peter Yazzie, who is Navajo, said he was arrested and held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Phoenix for several hours last week.

Yazzie, a construction worker from nearby Chinle, Ariz., said he was sitting in his car at a gas station preparing for a day of work when he saw ICE officers arrest some Latino men. The officers soon turned their attention to Yazzie, pushed him to the ground, and searched his vehicle, he said.

He said he told them where to find his driver’s license, birth certificate, and a federal Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood. Yazzie said the car he was in is registered to his mother. Officers said the names didn’t match, he said, and he was arrested, taken to a nearby detention center and held for about four hours.

“It’s an ugly feeling. It makes you feel less human. To know that people see your features and think so little of you,” he said.

Homeland Security did not respond to questions about the arrest.

Mantz, the Choctaw Nation citizen, said he runs pest-control operations in Minneapolis neighborhoods where ICE agents are active and he won’t leave home without his tribal identification documents.

Securing them for his children is now a priority.

“It gives me some peace of mind. But at the same time, why do we have to carry these documents?” Mantz said. “Who are you to ask us to prove who we are?”

Brewer, Peters and Huntington write for the Associated Press. Brewer reported from Oklahoma City and Peters from Edgewood, N.M.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, federal officials said Friday.

“We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a news conference. “That’s like any investigation that the Department of Justice and the FBI does every day. It means we’re looking at video, talking to witnesses, trying to understand what happened.”

There are thousands of instances every year when someone is shot by law enforcement, Blanche said, but not all are investigated by federal authorities.

“There has to be circumstances or facts or maybe unknown facts, but certainly circumstances, that warrant an investigation,” he added.

The Department of Homeland Security also said Friday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation will lead the federal probe.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem first disclosed the shift in which agency was leading the probe during a Fox News interview Thursday evening. Her department said earlier this week that Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within the department, would be heading the investigation.

“We will continue to follow the investigation that the FBI is leading and giving them all the information that they need to bring that to conclusion, and make sure that the American people know the truth of the situation and how we can go forward and continue to protect the American people,” Noem said, speaking to Fox host Sean Hannity.

Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Friday that the FBI will lead the Pretti probe and that HSI will support them. Separately, Customs and Border Protection, which is part of DHS, is doing its own internal investigation into the shooting, during which two officers opened fire on Pretti.

DHS did not immediately respond to questions about when the change was made or why. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was also not immediately clear whether the FBI would now share information and evidence with Minnesota state investigators, who have thus far been frozen out of the federal probe.

In the same interview, Noem appeared to distance herself from statements she made shortly after the shooting, claiming Pretti had brandished a handgun and aggressively approached officers.

Multiple videos that emerged of the shooting contradicted that claim, showing the intensive care nurse had only his mobile phone in his hand as officers tackled him to the ground, with one removing a handgun from the back of Pretti’s pants as another officer began firing shots into his back.

Pretti had a state permit to legally carry a concealed firearm. At no point did he appear to reach for it, the videos showed.

“I know you realize that situation was very chaotic, and that we were being relayed information from on the ground from CBP agents and officers that were there,” Noem said during the interview with Hannity on Thursday. “We were using the best information we had at the time, seeking to be transparent with the American people and get them what we knew to be true on the ground.”

The change comes after two other videos emerged Wednesday of an earlier altercation between Pretti and federal immigration officers 11 days before his death.

The Jan. 13 videos show Pretti in a winter coat, yelling at federal vehicles and at one point appearing to spit before kicking out the taillight of one vehicle. A struggle ensues between Pretti and several officers, during which he is forced to the ground. Pretti’s winter coat comes off, and he either breaks free or the officers let him go and he scurries away.

When he turns his back to the camera, what appears to be a handgun is visible in his waistband. At no point do the videos show Pretti reaching for the gun, and it is not clear whether federal agents saw it.

Steve Schleicher, a Minneapolis-based attorney representing Pretti’s parents, said Wednesday the earlier altercation in no way justified officers fatally shooting Pretti more than a week later.

In a post on his Truth Social platform early Friday morning, President Trump suggested that the videos of the earlier incident undercut the narrative that Pretti was a peaceful protester when he was shot.

“Agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist, Alex Pretti’s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer, and then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government vehicle, so hard and violent, in fact, that the taillight broke off in pieces,” Trump’s post said. “It was quite a display of abuse and anger, for all to see, crazed and out of control. The ICE Officer was calm and cool, not an easy thing to be under those circumstances!”

Biesecker and Santana write for the Associated Press. AP reporters Alanna Durkin Richer and Eric Tucker contributed to this report from Washington.

U.S. skiing great Lindsey Vonn says her “Olympic dream is not over” after crashing and injuring her knee during a downhill race that was meant to be her final warmup before the start of the Milan Cortina Games next week.

“I crashed today in the Downhill race in Switzerland and injured my left knee,” the 41-year-old former Olympic gold medalist posted Friday on her Instagram Story. “I am discussing the situation with my doctors and team and will continue to undergo further exams.

“This is a very difficult outcome one week before the Olympics… but if there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s a comeback.

“My Olympic dream is not over. Thank you all for all of the love and support. I will give more information when I have it. … It’s not over until it’s over.”

Taking part in a World Cup race in Crans Montana, Vonn lost control while attempting to land a jump on the upper portion of the course and slid into the safety netting. After receiving medical attention for about five minutes, Vonn slowly skied to the finish line, using her poles to support herself and stopping twice to clutch her knee.

She smiled and waved to the crowd after crossing the finish line and received a long embrace from teammate Jacqueline Wiles before entering the medical tent. She was later airlifted off the slope for further evaluation.

Vonn was the third skier to crash during the race, which was being held in difficult conditions with low visibility. The event was canceled after Vonn’s fall.

After nearly six years away from ski racing, Vonn made a comeback last year and has two victories and three additional podium finishes in five downhill races this season — all with a partial titanium implant in her right knee.

At the 2010 Vancouver Games, Vonn became the only U.S. woman to win Olympic gold in downhill skiing. She also won bronze medals in the super-G 2010 and downhill in 2018. On Dec. 23, Vonn announced on Instagram she had qualified for “my 5th and final Olympics!”

“When I made the decision to return to ski racing, I always had one eye on Cortina because it’s a place that is very, very special to me,” she wrote. “Although I can’t guarantee any outcomes, I can guarantee that I will give my absolute best every time l kick out of the starting gate. No matter how these games end up, I feel like I’ve already won.”

The opening ceremony for the Milan Cortina Games is Feb. 6. Vonn’s first scheduled event is the women’s downhill on Feb. 8. She had also planned on competing in the super-G and the new team combined event.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.