WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday refused to box himself in on how long U.S. military operations will last in Iran, saying the conflict in the Middle East could stretch from a month to potentially “far longer” as he frames the mission as one that is necessary to eliminate a “colossal threat” to American interests.
“Whatever the time is, it’s OK. Whatever it takes,” Trump said at a White House event. “Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that. We’ll do it.”
Hours earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the duration of the military operation remains fluid, and that Trump has “all the latitude in the world” to determine how long the war in Iran will go on.
“Four weeks, two weeks, six weeks. It could move up. It could move back,” Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.
The Trump administration’s shifting time frames and open-ended objectives in Iran have deepened uncertainty around an expanding conflict in the Middle East, particularly as American troops have already been killed in action and officials warn of more U.S. casualties.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday that additional U.S. military forces are already moving into the region, and warned that the conflict will not be a “single, overnight operation” and that he expects “additional losses.”
A fourth U.S. fatality
The development came as military officials confirmed a fourth American service member had been killed by Iranian counterattacks and that three American jets were mistakenly shot down in Kuwait in an “apparent friendly fire incident” — and as airstrikes continued to fall across the Middle East, where missile defense systems were unable to intercept every attack and deaths mounted into the hundreds.
As the U.S. and Israel continued to hammer Tehran and other targets across Iran and in Lebanon, retaliatory strikes by Iran and its allies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, were reported in Israel as well as at U.S. facilities and other targets inside Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, to Iran’s east, Pakistan and Afghanistan were engaged in their own battles, further destabilizing the region.
In addition to hundreds of people dead, including Iranian schoolchildren, other civilians and migrant workers in the Gulf, the fighting has impacted the world’s production of oil and natural gas — disrupting tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at the southern end of the Persian Gulf and causing oil prices to shoot up.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted Iranian drones attacking an oil refinery near Dammam, with the refinery shutting down as a precaution, the AP reported. Iran denied targeting the facility.
Air travel disrupted
The war also disrupted air traffic globally, as major airports in the Gulf, including in Dubai, halted or radically scaled back flights. The travel interruptions rippled around the world, and airline stocks tumbled.
Israel had implemented nationwide restrictions on activities as it fended off attacks from Iran and residents hid in bomb shelters. Iran reported strikes at multiple schools in the country had left young students dead.
As the conflict unfolds in real time, Trump and Hegseth have refused to rule out sending American troops into Iran, and the president has signaled that the “big wave” of military attacks is yet to come.
“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground. Like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Trump told the New York Post on Monday. ”I say, ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”
When asked by a reporter whether U.S. troops were currently on the ground, Hegseth told reporters they were not, but then bristled at further questions about potential future deployments.
“Why in the world would we tell you, the enemy or anybody, what we will do or will not do in pursuit of an objective?” Hegseth said.
The Trump administration’s objectives in the war have been equally hard to pinpoint. Trump said Saturday that the operation is aimed at razing Iran’s military and nuclear capability and dismantling Iran’s theocratic regime, but on Monday said the goal is to eliminate the threats posed by the “sick and sinister regime” but not the government itself.
Hegseth said the attacks in Iran are not part of a “so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change and the world is better off for it today.” The U.S. and Israel attack on Saturday killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
‘Second or third place is dead’
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday evening, Trump suggested his administration had considered some figures to replace Khamenei, but said those people are now dead.
“The attack was so successful it knocked out most of the candidates,” Trump said. “It’s not going to be anybody that we were thinking of because they are all dead. Second or third place is dead.”
The Trump administration’s messaging, meanwhile, was consistent in its vengeful rhetoric.
Hegseth and Trump both warned that any threat to Americans would be met with force.
“If you kill Americans, if you threaten Americans anywhere on Earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation, we will kill you,” Hegseth said.
Kevan Harris, an associate professor of sociology who teaches courses on Iran and Middle East politics at the UCLA International Institute, said a long misconception in “the way the U.S. reads Iran” is the belief that Khamenei ruled the country alone, and that taking him out would create a massive leadership vacuum or a sharp shift in the nation’s policies.
But while Khamenei was certainly an “intransigent” force in Iran, killing him won’t “lead to a major shift inside the country,” Harris said.
Benjamin Radd, a political scientist and senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, said whether the U.S. can get out of Iran on a relatively short timeline depends on whether those in power in Iran now are willing to negotiate terms that Khamenei and other leaders who have been killed rejected.
“If the remnants of the regime are ideologically committed to what they were under Khamenei,” Radd said he “can’t see Trump backing down” and would expect the war to rage on.
Other leaders in Iran are fundamentalist and aligned with Khamenei, but given the U.S. has shown a willingness and ability to capture and assassinate foreign leaders, they might back down out of self-preservation.
“In the short term, there should be a wait-and-see approach as to what this reconstituted regime looks like,” he said.
The warm smiles coming from Chadrack Mpoyi are plentiful these days. After forcefully dominating the paint and protecting the rim in Crean Lutheran wins, the imposing big man beams as teammates, classmates and supporters congratulate him. He offers a hug in return.
Mpoyi says he’s having fun each game in his one season of high school basketball in the U.S., the 6-foot-11 African enjoying a meteoric rise to become one of the top West Coast centers in this year’s class. A virtual unknown coming from Congo two summers ago to attend school in Orange County, Mpoyi saw his recruitment skyrocket and lead to him signing with Minnesota. He scored 14 points during Crean Lutheran’s 59-52 win over JSerra in the Southern Section Division 1A championship game Saturday. The Saints (26-7) qualified for for the CIF Southern California Regional that begins Tuesday, extending Mpoyi’s senior season.
In a way, it all happened so quickly, by leaps and bounds. Within a week of arriving in June 2024 on a student visa, Mpoyi was donning the Saints’ jersey and playing in a tournament in Corona in preparation for the NCAA evaluation period when college coaches can watch recruits play in person. By that August, he claimed an offer from Washington. The following summer, he had about two dozen offers.
Still, Mpoyi’s swift emergence came amid a rather inauspicious beginning to his journey. He left his father, mother and siblings to pursue a basketball opportunity on another continent. He tried seeking international student transfer eligibility with the highly regarded Crean Lutheran program, but the CIF Southern Section ruled he couldn’t play on the varsity team in the 2024-25 season. He’d be sitting out.
Chadrack Mpoyi saw the Crean Lutheran community support him before he was ever able to play in an official game for the Saints.
(Diamond Leung / For The Times)
And soon after that …
“My mom passed away,” Mpoyi said quietly, declining to discuss it much further.
The Crean Lutheran community responded by wrapping its arms around the teenager with the 7-foot-5 wingspan. A second family — a prominent Orange County one — stepped forward to open its doors to Mpoyi and form a stateside support system.
“And he blended in beautifully,” said Stacy Jones, the mother of his host family.
Crean Lutheran is named after John Crean, the recreational vehicle pioneer and philanthropist with a rags-to-riches story. As a child, Crean and his family left North Dakota at the start of the Great Depression and settled in Southern California as they barely scraped by, and his Irish immigrant father was in poor health. As an Orange County businessman, Crean ultimately became the founder and chief executive of Fleetwood Enterprises, a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue surpassing $3 billion. His foundation donated $10 million after his 2007 death to help establish Irvine’s first Christian high school.
The school has made it a well-worn path for international students to come for a faith-centered education in one of the newer planned residential communities in the city. And boys’ basketball coach Austin Loeb, through his connection to the Luol Deng Foundation, has facilitated the addition of several players from the former NBA All-Star’s native South Sudan. They’ve stayed with host families and gone on to play at the college level. The Saints currently include two Sudanese players in senior forwards Jacob Majok, who has signed with UC Riverside, and Will Malual.
“It’s a ministry as well [as] an opportunity to get kids that come from nothing and give them this,” Loeb said in Crean Lutheran’s gym after a Saints win.
Mpoyi is the first player from Congo to play for Crean Lutheran. He arrived with the ability to speak three languages — French, Swahili and Lingala.
Crean Lutheran guard Caden Jones recalled how the team communicated with the new kid as Mpoyi joined a trip to Santa Barbara for a summer tournament the week after he arrived.
“Through Google Translate,” said Jones, a dual-sport standout who also stars at quarterback for Crean Lutheran. “Every food place we went to, he wanted a cheeseburger or pizza. By the end of it, we just knew what he wanted so we didn’t have to ask him.”
Jones’ mom, Stacy, upon first spotting Mpoyi wearing the Crean Lutheran jersey, wondered who was the player sitting by himself.
“Nobody was talking to him,” Stacy recalled. “Nobody offered him water or anything. We went to him and said, ‘Do you need water or a protein bar?’ He didn’t speak English. He didn’t know what we were talking about. So we just went and got it, and we asked the coach, ‘What’s going on with this kid?’”
Mpoyi was limited not only by the language. He’d been playing basketball only a few years, after he started watching videos of Hakeem Olajuwon, an NBA star from Nigeria, so he also had more to learn on the court.
“He traveled every other possession,” said Loeb, who served as Crean Lutheran’s top assistant coach last season. “I’m not kidding.”
Eventually, Stacy learned about Mpoyi’s living situation off campus and found it to be unsatisfactory for him.
“The coach says, ‘Do you mind? Can you just take him for a couple weeks until I can find a host family?’” Stacy recalled. “And so we did, and then … we couldn’t give him away.”
Chadrack Mpoyi greets Stacy Jones, right, the mother of his host family, after leading Crean Lutheran to a win at Cypress.
(Diamond Leung / For The Times)
She laughed and smiled.
Said Caden: “Just being with him every day, he’s like a brother to me now. I love him to death.”
Stacy never got a chance to speak with Mpoyi’s mother, but she could tell they were very close. She understood that his mom’s life revolved around church and raising nine kids, Mpoyi being the baby of the family.
Less than three months after he left his hometown of Likasi, his mother died.
“It’s pretty sad and incredible,” Loeb said. “His mom had cancer and when this opportunity came about for him to come over to the U.S., she didn’t tell him because she thought he would stay. Once he was here, she told him she was sick, but he didn’t know how quick it would be. Talk about putting your kids above yourself.”
Mpoyi was neither able to travel back home nor play in high school basketball games as an outlet. As Mpoyi mourned, the team had to encourage him to step outside of the house to clear his mind, said Caden, who extended empathy beyond the hospitality inside of it. Mpoyi’s faith deepened.
“I was driving him to school — he wanted to go to school, and put his hand on my arm, and he says, ‘… I really want to get baptized in honor of my mom,’” Stacy Jones said, her voice shaking. “And I just lost it.”
A month after losing his mother, Mpoyi was baptized at chapel held in the school gym. Wearing a Crean Lutheran hoodie, he bowed his head in front of the whole school, including teammates and coaches, and received a standing ovation.
Stacy, who had arranged a French-speaking pastor, also surprised Mpoyi with a letterman jacket, with his mom’s favorite picture and Bible verse custom-printed on the back.
“It was just cool to see him continuing his faith and how happy inside he was to take the journey,” Caden said.
Caden’s father, Steve, is the global chairman and chief executive of Allied Universal, the private security provider for many Fortune 500 companies, and he oversees the third-largest private employer in North America. The only companies with more employees are Walmart and Amazon.
Crean Lutheran teammates Chadrack Mpoyi and Caden Jones, waiting to check into a game, say they are like brothers after living together.
(Diamond Leung / For The Times)
Stacy, his wife, is a philanthropist who has joined him in raising $13 million in the last seven years for victims of human trafficking by supporting Vera’s Sanctuary, an Orange County residential drug rehabilitation center for young women.
Together they opened the doors of their home to Mpoyi and later signed on for guardianship. Mpoyi didn’t know the family well upon arriving to the gated community of Coto de Caza, but adapted — and grew in more ways than one.
Stacy said she enlisted an English instructor who also spoke French and that Mpoyi picked up the language in two weeks. “He’s a sponge,” she said. “He just absorbs everything. He’s wicked smart.”
Mpoyi said it was hard, but in four or five months, Loeb described a night-and-day difference in his English-speaking ability and marveled at the progress, noting that he carries a grade-point average above 3.0. Stanford would join the schools offering him a scholarship.
The Joneses were especially busy during the fall of 2024 raising two sons as elite athletes as well. Caden was a four-star quarterback when he suffered a season-ending knee injury that September before bouncing back as a junior by throwing for 30 touchdowns and more than 3,000 yards to draw heavy recruiting interest. Carter Jones flipped his commitment from California to Arizona that October after developing into a three-star linebacker at Crean Lutheran, and he formed a tight bond with Mpoyi before leaving for college.
With the new dynamics, what was it like in that household?
“We are a very physical family,” Stacy said. “Lots of hugs.”
Said Caden: “A lot of food. We eat a lot.”
And with the team, Loeb said what made Mpoyi special was how he connected, explaining, “He loves people so much and he cares about them. He’s a natural leader.”
Sidelined last season, Mpoyi dedicated himself to lifting weights and adding muscle. That part he could control, according to Loeb, who credited Mpoyi for sticking with the plan. With Crean Lutheran’s strength program — and having access to some weights at the Jones home — he went from 195 pounds to about 245. The transformation of his body enabled him to transform his game as he progressively improved his combination of physicality and skill.
“I can do several things,” said a smiling Mpoyi, who watches video of another 6-11 talent, NBA great Kevin Garnett, before games. “I can dunk on people, and then I can face up.”
Said Loeb: “When he came over, he was more of like a stretchy forward. I wanted to turn him into a more traditional big right now because that would help him to be successful. But he still has the mobility to get out and guard and still be physical. He’s learning the game, and he has really good touch.”
And perseverance, for which Loeb nominated Mpoyi for the Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award. Loeb believes the trait comes from Mpoyi’s strong faith.
Steve Jones, who wrote a book about achieving more in business and life titled, “No Off Season: The Constant Pursuit of More,” sees the same.
“All people see is this giant 7-foot kid,” Steve said. “What people don’t see is how hard of a worker he is.”
Midnight neared as Steve, dressed in Crean Lutheran gear, visited with Arizona football staffers at the Saints’ basketball game at the Nike Extravaganza in Santa Ana. They watched Caden hoop with Crean Lutheran fighting for a spot in the Open Division playoff field, as there’s interest in having him join his older brother on the Wildcats’ football team. Caden, a 6-foot-3 point guard, also has received basketball offers from Washington and UC Santa Barbara.
Aside from running a global company that does about $23 billion in annual revenue out of its Irvine headquarters, Steve, a former college football player at Cal Poly whose father played for Bear Bryant, also oversaw the recruitment process for Mpoyi last summer and looked out for his best interests.
Forced to sit out last season, Mpoyi developed into a three-star prospect while playing for All In Elite on the Under Armour circuit and in summer high school events. Mpoyi and Crean Lutheran traveled to Mesa, Ariz., last June and captured a bracket title at Section 7, an event crawling with college coaches. Minnesota offered the following week, and Loeb counted 23 offers over the summer.
“I wanted to make sure no one took advantage of him,” Steve said. “I wanted to make sure he found the right fit. I wanted to make sure that coaches really wanted him for the right reason, that it was the right offense for him.”
Crean Lutheran coach Austin Loeb has watched Chadrack Mpoyi fight to overcome obstacles after he arrived from Congo.
(Diamond Leung / For The Times)
That ended up being in the bruising Big Ten with Minnesota. After the 19-year-old signed with just five years of playing experience, Coach Niko Medved said in a statement in November: “Chadrack has an incredible upside, has a great motor and is athletic. One of the first things we noticed was how well he moves for his size and his ability to move his feet and protect the rim.”
It’s Stacy who has taken on the difficult task of trying to track down Congolese documentation as she works with Minnesota’s compliance department to help Mpoyi meet NCAA eligibility requirements.
Mpoyi not only acknowledges that the Joneses have supported him but also has shown protective instincts with the family. When they’re walking around, he’ll wait and make sure she’s nearby, Stacy said.
“He’s very humble and I know he comes from small beginnings but he never lets you know it,” she said. “We live in a nice house, and they ask him all the time, what’s it like to live with the Joneses? And he’s like, what are you talking about? He doesn’t engage with those kinds of conversations. How much money do they have? Like, why are you asking? Does it matter?
“He’s a gift.”
“He’ll be in our lives forever,” said Steve, who envisions holidays in which Mpoyi is able to come back from college to their home. “It’s like he’s turned into our son. I don’t know if we originally thought that was going to happen. When you say, ‘Can someone live at your house for a little bit,’ you say ‘Yes.’
With summer temperatures and clear skies this weekend, it’s hard to believe that just weeks ago, the city was hit with a week of heavy rainstorms. Several restaurants across the region were forced to temporarily close due to flooding, resulting in revenue loss and expensive repairs.
March brings the start of spring, which means we’re already seeing seasonal produce such as asparagus, peas and apricots appear on our favorite menus. Keep reading for more dining ideas this month, including the return of a globe-trotting cafe, a community-minded food hub in South L.A. and an Argentinian bistro with a connection to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance.
What sounded like a very cool L.A. Art Week party ended up getting a bit too rowdy. On Sunday night the Los Angeles Police Department was called to a former 99 Cents Only store on Wilshire Boulevard where an opening night party was underway for a week-long pop-up called “99CENT,” organized by former tagger and blue-chip artist Barry McGee and presented with the Hole gallery.
An LAPD public information officer confirmed that officers responded to a disturbance call at the location, which is just down the street from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Academy Museum, at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Police arrived to find “a large group of about 20 or 30 people, drinking and playing loud music.” The crowd dispersed on its own after law enforcement arrived.
Neighbor Rebekka Mueller, who lives across the parking lot from the store, said that a concert at the event had attracted hundreds of people, a number of whom took to tagging four or five neighboring businesses, including the now-closed historic Googie-style Johnie’s Coffee Shop.
The event drew plenty of respectful art fans, Mueller said, “but attracted lots of other people, and they started tagging the whole building — but not in an art way. And then it spilled over to the businesses nearby, to an insurance company, and then two apartment buildings were completely tagged … and they had no security on site when this happened. So this was very alarming for the neighborhood.”
Cole Schiffer, whose family owns the 99 Cents building, said he was sorry that neighbors’ structures were tagged and that he has been working all week to paint over the tagging.
“We didn’t know that this would happen. I was pretty naive about the graphic art world,” he said. “We’re business owners, we spend a lot of time removing graffiti. My mom grew up in this neighborhood. My grandparents lived and died here, so honestly, it’s a little sad and crazy to see this graffiti all over the neighborhood.”
Schiffer said things had calmed down after Sunday night and that the Hole gallery was working to avoid problems for the rest of the week’s festivities.
In a brief story about the event, Times freelancer Mariella Rudi noted that the 99 Cents store had been transformed into, “a dense, joyous artist flea market” featuring, “more than 200 contributors and well over 4,000 works.” When Rudi was there on Sunday night she said she didn’t see any destructive behavior.
“Paintings are stacked against old shelving. Shopping carts hang from the ceiling. You can even check out your purchases at the register, complete with a sticker and a receipt,” Rudi wrote, adding, “Graffiti-heavy aisles will thrill fans of Beyond the Streets, but a handwritten sign near the entrance offers a final note: ‘Please, no tagging inside. Owners are cool.’ ”
The pop-up will feature puppets from Bob Baker Marionette Theatre this Sunday, as well as an Anti-Fascist Zine Fair. This whole scene is right up my alley, and I say, “Yes, please,” to more edgy arts programming featuring outsider artists and youthful rebellion.
But it seems a minority of guests decided to dishonor the spirit of the event by disrespecting the boundaries put into place by organizers.
Even neighbors who complained, like Mueller, said they were big supporters of the arts and that a lot of great art was on display inside the store — they wished the situation had played out differently, and they hope Sunday night’s grand finale proves more in control.
Mueller said that although organizers had painted over many of the tags, the situation at Johnie’s had not yet been remedied.
I’m Times Arts editor Jessica Gelt, and I’m here for all the colorful underground fun — and the angry dissent that often comes with it — but none of the destruction of property.
You’re reading Essential Arts
The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY All My Sons Oánh Nguyễn directs Antaeus Theatre Company’s production of Arthur Miller’s 1946 Tony-winning play about a Midwestern family facing a moral reckoning after World War II. Through March 30. Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Broadway, Glendale. antaeus.org
Detail of a photo by Lou Bopp, seen in the documentary “All the Empty Rooms.”
(Netflix)
All the Empty Rooms Photos memorializing the bedrooms of children lost to school shootings captured by photographer Lou Bopp and reporter Steve Hartman and featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary short film directed by Joshua Seftel, are on display at an outdoor installation. Through Monday, Sunset Triangle Plaza, 3700 Sunset Blvd.
And What of the Children? Writer-director Ryan Lisman’s play blends drama, dark comedy and horror in a psychological thriller about a trio of siblings in the Witness Protection Program. Through March 15. The Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. events.humanitix.com
Front and Center: Emerging Artists with the Colburn Orchestra Salonen Fellows Mert Yalniz and Aleksandra Melaniuk will lead a varied program of concerto works spotlighting up-and-coming soloists. The performance will be live streamed. 7 p.m. Friday. Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand. Ave., downtown L.A. colburnschool.edu
John Giorno in Andy Warhol’s “Sleep.”
(Andy Warhol/John Giorno Collection, John Giorno Archives. Studio Rondinone, New York, NY.)
Sleep John Giorno, the subject of the exhibition “John Giorno: No Nostalgia,” stars in Andy Warhol’s 1964 five hours and 21-minute silent film. Free with a reservation. 5-10:30 p.m. Friday. Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. marcianoartfoundation.org
SATURDAY
John Holiday in the title role of LA Opera’s 2026 production of “Akhnaten.”
(Cory Weaver)
Akhnatan John Holiday stars in L.A. Opera’s production of Philip Glass’ portrait of the Egyptian pharaoh, sung in in English, Ancient Egyptian, Biblical Hebrew and Akkadian. Directed by Phelim McDermott and conducted by Dalia Stasevska making her company debut. Through March 21, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laopera.org
Attacca Quartet and Theo Bleckmann The versatile Grammy-winning ensemble teams with vocalist Bleckmann on David Lang’s “note to a friend,” a chamber opera based on three reimagined texts by Japanese writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa. 8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu
From Strand to Sculpture A self-guided tour of the Japanese bamboo basketry exhibition will be followed by a lecture from bamboo art expert Robert Coffland, founder of TAI Gallery (now TAI Modern) in Santa Fe, N.M., and now president of the Santa Fe gallery Textile Arts Inc. The lecture is also available via Zoom. 4-7 p.m. Saturday. The Gamble House is located at 4 Westmoreland Place, Pasadena. gamblehouse.org
The Price Richard Fancy, Dana Dewes, Jason Huber and Scott G. Jackson star in Arthur Miller’s late-period drama about two brother’s cleaning out their late father’s New York brownstone. Through April 5. Pacific Resident Theatre, 703 Venice Blvd. pacificresidenttheatre.org
Pepe Romero Returns The classical guitarist joins the Long Beach Symphony for a concert featuring ”Concierto de Aranjuez” by Joaquín Rodrigo, Gabriela Lena Frank’s “Elegia Andina” and movements from Handel’s “Water Music Suites.” 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Long Beach Terrace Theater, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. longbeachsymphony.org
Bud Cort in the 1971 movie “Harold and Maude,” screening March 15 at the Aero.
(CBS via Getty Images)
Starring Bud Cort The American Cinematheque salutes the singular character actor, who recently died at 77, with screenings of Robert Altman’s “Brewster McCloud” (1970), Wes Anderson’s “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou” (2004) and Hal Ashby’s“Harold and Maude” (1971). “Brewster McCloud”, 2 p.m. Saturday in 35mm. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd.; “The Life Aquatic”, 3 p.m. March 14; “Harold and Maude,” 1 p.m. March 15 in 35 mm. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. americancinematheque.com
SUNDAY Unassisted Residency Every edition of erstwhile weatherman Fritz Coleman’s monthly comedy show features a special guest. 3 p.m. Sunday. El Portal Theatre, Monroe Forum, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. elportaltheatre.com
TUESDAY Camerata Pacifica The ensemble performs a program that includes Madeleine Dring’s “Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano,” the world premiere of David Brice’s “Natural Light,” Cécile Chaminade’s “Thème varié for Piano, Op. 89” and Antonín Dvořák’s “Quintet in A major for Piano and Strings, Op. 81,” arranged by David Jolley. 3 p.m. Sunday. Bank of America Performing Arts Center, Janet and Ray Scherr Forum, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino; 8 p.m., Thursday. Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.; 7 p.m. Friday. Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Road, Santa Barbara. cameratapacifica.org
WEDNESDAY
Sara Porkalob, playwright and performer of “Dragon Mama.”
(Corey Olsen)
Dragon Mama Writer-performer Sara Porkalob returns in Part II of her Filipina American “gangster” family’s intergenerational saga, “The Dragon Cycle,” this time centering her mother’s journey. Directed by Andrew Russell Through April 12. Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue, Westwood. geffenplayhouse.org
THURSDAY The Adding Machine The Actors’ Gang performs Elmer Rice’s 1923 satire that provides a prophetic warning from the past for our present. Through April 18. The Actors; Gang, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. theactorsgang.com
Dante and Beethoven’s Sixth Gustavo Dudamel conducts the L.A. Phil in Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 – Pastoral” and Thomas Adès’ “Inferno – Part 1.” 8 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. Friday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company A remounting of the historic dance theater work “Still/Here,” created by Jones 30 years in the midst of the AIDS epidemic from interviews with terminally patients which he called “survival workshops.” 8 p.m. UCLA Royce Hall, 340 Royce Drive, Westwood. cap.ucla.edu
Arts anywhere
New releases of arts-related media.
Clockwise from top left, artists Candice Lin, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Tomás Saraceno and Ragnar Kjartansson from “Art in the Twenty-First Century.”
(Art21, Inc.)
Art in the Twenty-First Century Museums are fantastic, but do you ever want to know what’s going on right now in the art world? Since it debuted in 2001, this video series has focused on contemporary art and artists and has been a mainstay of public broadcasting. The second episode of the 12th season (they’re released biannually) debuted Feb. 11 and profiles four international artists, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Ragnar Kjartansson, Candice Lin and Tomás Saraceno, who use ordinary materials to make extraordinary art. Of local note, Crosby and Lin both live and work in L.A., and the Huntington in San Marino makes an appearance as well. Watch at art21.org, YouTube and pbs.org.
(Princeton University Press)
Michelangelo & Titian It may not have been a heated rivalry, but author William E. Wallace makes the case that the two great Renaissance artists drove each other to excel in a new dual biography subtitled “A Tale of Rivalry and Genius.” Princeton University Press: 248 pp., $35. press.princeton.edu
Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama competes in the figure skating men’s singles free skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics on February 13 in Milan, Italy.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Turandot: Christopher Tin Finale The two-time Grammy-winning composer completed Giacomo Puccini’s famously unfinished final opera for this EP recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios with an all-star cast. You may even have heard it during Japanese figure skater Yuma Kagiyama’s free skate program at the recent Winter Olympic Games in Milan (Kagiyama won silver for the second time). Not only was Milan Puccini’s hometown, but the Games coincided with the 100th-anniversary of the premiere of the opera at Teatro La Scala. Tin Works: $12-30. Available on vinyl, CD, digital download and streaming platforms.christophertin.com
— Kevin Crust
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Frieze Los Angeles returned to the Santa Monica Airport on Feb. 26.
(Casey Kelbaugh / Courtesy of Frieze and CKA)
Art Week is here, and L.A. is overflowing with guests, artists and dealers from around the world as the city stages a wide variety of fairs, exhibitions, dinners and other arts events. The Times put together a handy guide to all the fairs you need to see, including Frieze, Butter LA and the Other Art Fair.
Freelancer Jane Horowitz wrote an in-depth piece about Frieze’s “Body & Soul,” a public art program of eight installations designed to reach beyond traditional art fair audiences. The story gives information about site-specific installations and the artists behind them, including Patrick Martinez. Amanda Ross Ho and Kelly Wall.
Kara Walker, “Unmanned Drone,” 2024, bronze
(Ruben Diaz)
Earlier this week, MOCA announced it had acquired 158 works by 106 artists in 2025 and that it had acquired the centerpiece of its current blockbuster “Monuments” exhibit: “Unmanned Drone,” by artist Kara Walker. “Walker created the 13-foot-tall bronze sculpture out of a statue of the prominent Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson that was originally in Charlottesville, Va. The statue had been removed after serving as a significant gathering place for the infamous 2017 Unite the Right rally of white supremacists,” I wrote in a story about the acquisition.
Our major investigation into L.A. arts icon Judy Baca also published this week, featuring allegations by 10 former employees, including two managers, that Baca used her nonprofit arts center, SPARC, to benefit her private, for-profit art practice, Judy Baca Inc. They also alleged Baca personally benefited from a $5-million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to expand her most famous work, a community-driven effort known as “The Great Wall of Los Angeles.”
Alexander Hurt, left, Katie Holmes and Charlie Barnett in “Hedda Gabler.”
(Rich Soublet II)
Times theater critic Charles McNulty headed to San Diego’s Old Globe to catch Katie Holmes in a new take on Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” written by Erin Cressida Wilson “that compresses the action and sharpens the language to a razor’s edge.”
“Beethoven’s ‘Missa Solemnis’ is a grand mass for large orchestra, chorus and four vocal soloists that lasts around 80 minutes,” writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed in his review of Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil’s performance of the challenging piece. “It was written near the end of Beethoven’s life and is his most ambitious work musically and spiritually.” The concert at Disney Hall was part of Dudamel’s “month-long L.A. Phil focus on Beethoven.”
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The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced that its partnership with Hyundai Motor Co. will continue until 2037. The union was first cemented in 2015, and the museum said in a news release that it “represents the largest programmatic commitment from a corporate partner in LACMA’s history.” The announcement included two initiatives “that will define the next chapter” of collaboration. “The first initiative is a new exhibition series under the title ‘Hyundai Project.’ Beginning in 2028, the museum will present a biennial survey of an artist with significant ties to Los Angeles and the Pan Pacific region. The featured artist will also develop a large-scale banner for the exhibition that will be installed on the exterior of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM). Secondly, with Hyundai Motor’s renewed support, LACMA will expand the scope, visibility, and impact of the Art + Technology Lab,” the release noted.
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Noah Goldberg, with an assist from David Zahniser, giving you the latest on city and county government.
When Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman launched her bid for mayor, her decision stunned many of the city’s political players, in large part because she had endorsed Karen Bass’ reelection a few weeks earlier.
Since Raman jumped into the race, those politicos have been searching for clues as to why Raman broke so completely with Bass, going from ally to opponent.
Now, an additional data point has emerged that, at minimum, signals that Bass and Raman were not as simpatico as they seemed.
Last month, Bass quietly took steps to drop Raman from the powerful board that oversees the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Raman had been serving in that role since 2022, when she was appointed by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Bass’ team said they notified Raman’s office on Jan. 16 that the mayor planned to select someone else to represent her on the AQMD’s 13-member board, which works to ensure that more than 17 million people across four counties — Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino — have cleaner air.
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Raman’s term expired last month, and Bass has not announced a replacement. Until that happens, Raman will continue to serve in the post.
Bass spokesperson Amanda Crumley did not provide an explanation for Bass’ decision but said it was not prompted by any policy disagreements between the two.
“The Mayor has 60 days to appoint a new council member to the AQMD, and she and her team started conversations with council members weeks ago in planning for the end of the term,” Crumley said. “As has been the plan for weeks, Mayor Bass will be moving forward with an appointment soon.”
Raman, in a statement, said that losing the AQMD seat was not a factor in her decision to run for mayor.
“During my time on the Board, I’ve been able to meaningfully push for cleaner air, stronger accountability for major polluters, and real progress on zero-emission freight and building standards that protect the health of Angelenos,” Raman said.
Raman said she learned she was being “removed” from her post in mid-January. On Jan. 27, Bass announced that Raman had endorsed her bid for a second term. A few days before that, the mayor’s team informed Raman’s office that they would be going public with her endorsement, according to a Bass campaign aide.
Raman launched her own mayoral campaign on Feb. 7, hours before the filing deadline, saying the city “can’t seem to manage the basics.”
Bass and Raman have mostly been in sync over the last three years, frequently appearing together and only occasionally revealing points of contention.
Raman, who lives in Silver Lake, opposed a package of pay increases for police officers, saying it was financially reckless. Bass, who resides in Windsor Square, said the raises and bonuses were needed to boost recruitment at the Los Angeles Police Department, which has lost 1,300 officers since 2020.
Last year, Raman also opposed a $2.6-billion plan to upgrade the Convention Center. She called the project a budget buster, while Bass said it is needed to revitalize downtown and the region’s economy.
The mayor’s move at the AQMD suggests the two may have disagreed in another policy area. But the back story is tough to decode.
One possible clue: the AQMD’s recent approval of a major agreement to bring zero-emissions technology to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The agreement commits the ports to add electric truck chargers, hydrogen fuel pumps and other technology aimed at eliminating diesel pollution.
At one point, Raman pushed for a more aggressive “rulemaking” approach that would give the AQMD enforcement power if the ports failed to meet certain emissions goals, according to a source with knowledge of the process, who asked to remain unnamed.
Bass favored a less regulatory approach — a cooperative agreement between AQMD and the ports, the source said. That strategy was also favored by the shipping industry and organized labor.
In the end, Raman voted in favor of the cooperative agreement, while acknowledging outside criticism of the decision. She said she supported the agreement to keep the AQMD from “continuing a decade of inaction.”
Environmental groups were disappointed. Bill Magavern, policy director for the Coalition for Clean Air, said the AQMD “adopted a weak, unenforceable agreement when what the board had committed to doing for years was an actual enforceable limit on emissions.”
Magavern said he thinks there were times that Raman, as a Bass appointee, “felt compelled to go along with the mayor’s wishes.” At the same time, he expressed some concern about Raman’s departure.
“We are sorry to see her leave the board because we think the AQMD needs to face up to our air pollution challenges,” Magavern said. “We certainly hope that Bass will appoint someone who is willing to stand up for clean air and take on polluting special interests.”
For now, Raman’s name still appears on the AQMD website as a member of the board. Its next meeting is on Friday.
State of play
— BIGGER IS BETTER: The city’s Charter Reform Commission recommended this week that the City Council grow to 25 members, up from 15. The citizens panel also called for the city to switch to ranked-choice voting, with voters choosing their candidates in order of preference. Both proposals could wind up on the city’s ballot in November, depending on the wishes of the council.
— FEDS SWOOP IN: The FBI raided the home and office of L.A. Unified schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho this week, in what appears to be a probe involving a company that developed an AI chatbot for the nation’s second-largest school system. Two days later, the school board placed Carvalho on paid leave.
— HEADING TO COURT: Former Fire Chief Kristin Crowleysued the city of Los Angeles this week, saying the mayor retaliated against her in an attempt to shift blame over the city’s handling of the Palisades fire. A Bass aide said the lawsuit has no merit. The council decided to pay Crowley’s successor, Fire Chief Jaime Moore, nearly $474,000 per year.
— ‘RED HOT COALS’: Meanwhile, a Los Angeles firefighter said in sworn testimony that he sounded the alarm about the inadequate mop-up of the Lachman fire — and was blown off by a captain — days before the embers reignited into the deadly Palisades fire.
— SIGNATURE SEARCH: Wednesday’s deadline for candidates to turn in their petitions for the June 2 primary election is fast approaching. So far, six mayoral candidates have qualified for the ballot — Bass, Raman and four others: housing advocate Rae Huang, engineering manager Asaad Alnajjar, political scientist Juanita Lopez and technical architect Andrej Selivra.
— WHO ELSE IS IN? All of the incumbents have qualified: City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, City Controller Kenneth Mejia and Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Katy Yaroslavsky, Monica Rodriguez, Traci Park, Hugo Soto-Martínez and Tim McOsker.
According to the City Clerk’s latest update, the challengers so far are Deputy Atty. Gen. Marissa Roy, running for city attorney; real estate executive Zach Sokoloff, running for city controller; and council candidates Maria Lou Calanche, Nelson Grande, Jose Ugarte and Faizah Malik.
— GIVING BACK GRANTS: About $100 million in state funding for transportation projects in Boyle Heights, Wilmington and Skid Row is now in jeopardy because the city doesn’t have the staff to complete the projects. The issue is part of the fallout from last year’s $1-billion budget shortfall, when city leaders cut hundreds of vacant positions.
— RIDING THE RAILS: The long-awaited extension of the Metro D Line subway, once known as the Purple Line, will finally make its debut on May 8. The extension will take subway riders west from Koreatown to La Cienega Boulevard, with brand-new stations at La Brea and Fairfax avenues.
— ANIMAL ATTACK: A jury has awarded $5.4 million to a woman who was mauled by a dog at an L.A. animal shelter, the latest in a string of such cases. The woman said neither the shelter nor the rescue group she worked for told her about the dog’s bite history.
— BAR FIGHT: Downtown LA Law Group, the firm at the center of the scandal over Los Angeles County’s $4-billion sex abuse settlement, is fighting to keep thousands of documents out of the hands of state bar investigators. The bar launched its probe after The Times reported that nine DTLA clients said they had been paid to sue the county over alleged sex abuse.
— DON’T JUMP: An LAPD officer who went on disability and then was caught skydiving now faces criminal charges. Christopher Brandon Carnahan, 43, committed insurance fraud by exaggerating the extent of an on-duty work injury, according to the D.A.’s office.
— SIDELINED SUPERVISORS: L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger recently sounded off on the governance overhaul coming to the county. Appearing at the Los Angeles Current Affairs Forum, Barger said the powerful new position of elected countywide CEO would relegate the supervisors to the realm of ribbon-cutting and little else.
“You’ll see a CEO that has autonomy to do what he or she wants with no term limits, veto power,” Barger said. “Quite frankly, I think the supervisors are going to be in name only.”
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LOTTIE Moss has revealed she’s in hospital for the second time this week, leaving fans worried.
The model, 28, who is the half-sister to Kate Moss, first revealed earlier this week that she was in hospital and shared a picture of her food in a medical boot.
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Lottie Moss has revealed she is back in hospital for the second time in just one weekCredit: Instagram/lottiemossxoThe star was joined by her new boyfriend Themy Kalaitzis as they waited in A&ECredit: Instagram/lottiemossxoIt comes just days after she was in hospital with a medical boot onCredit: Instagram/lottiemossxo
However, she didn’t reveal what had happened to it.
Now, Lottie has taken to her Instagram Stories to reveal she’s back in A&E just days later.
Recording herself in the waiting area with boyfriend Themy Kalaitzis, Lottie had her hair bundled into a messy ponytail and a grey jumper on.
“Saturday dates,” art advisor Themy said to the camera, as Lottie laughed.
She said: “I lost a lot of friends from the modelling industry.
“My mum didn’t speak to me for weeks and my family was a little bit in turmoil over it.”
Seeing the funny side, Lottie laughed as Themy joked the trip was a good “Saturday date”Credit: Instagram/lottiemossxoLottie is yet to share the reason for her trip, with fans left worriedCredit: Instagram/lottiemossxo
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
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:
Missileers with the 321st Missile Squadron run through the test sequence document during the Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman test inside the launch control center at a missile alert facility in the 90th Missile Wing’s missile complex, Neb., April 11, 2017. The missileers worked heavily in conjunction with missile maintainers to conduct a test of Minuteman III weapon system components. A successful test proves the ICBM weapon system’s effectiveness in a safe and secure manner. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Ruano)
Also, a reminder:
Prime Directives!
If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you.
If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like.
Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.
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.
After Nexstar Media Group announced layoffs at KTLA-TV this week, some viewers have expressed shock and dismay over losing several longtime local broadcast journalists at the station.
The cuts included KTLA weatherman Mark Kriski, weathercaster Kacey Montoya, midday anchors Lu Parker and Glen Walker and reporter Ellina Abovian. The layoffs come as Nexstar attempts to cut costs and pursues a merger with rival media company Tegna.
Abovian, who was a general assignment reporter at the station, reflected on the layoffs on social media, saying in a video posted to Threads on Thursday that she was “blindsided,” and that the cuts were “part of corporate restructuring.”
“Corporate layoffs are a part of life and this is just the game of life. They’re impacting people across multiple industries right now, so I’m not the only one, and my situation certainly isn’t unique,” said Abovian, who worked at the station for more than a decade. “But it’s hard to process, considering how it happened.”
Some viewers and fellow journalists have also expressed their disappointment.
CNN anchor Elex Michaelson responded on X, writing, “Mark Kriski is an L.A. broadcasting icon. As a kid, the OG KTLA Morning News crew (Carlos, Barbara, Mark, Sam, Eric, Gayle, etc) inspired me to want to be a journalist. I have great respect for Glen, Lu, Kacey, and Elina as well … all great people … and talented broadcasters.”
Each of the laid-off journalists had been with the station for a number of years. Kriski had been with KTLA since 1991, and Walker sat at the station’s anchor desk since 2010. Parker joined KTLA in 2005.
KTLA morning news anchor Frank Buckley addressed the situation before continuing with the broadcast Thursday.
“As you probably know, we are extremely limited in what we can say,” Buckley said. “But if you are a regular viewer of this program and of this TV station, you also know that we are a family here. We consider you to be part of that family. And when family members experience tough times, we all feel it. So this is a difficult time for us. And we will go through it together.”
SAG-AFTRA, which represents the laid-off journalists, issued a release on Wednesday condemning the cuts. The guild disclosed that it is “actively bargaining with Nexstar stations in multiple markets.” It accused Nexstar of pushing “to gut severance pay and insert onerous provisions into the union contract that limit workers’ ability to freely negotiate the terms of their own employment.”
“By laying off journalists across the country, Nexstar is eroding the resources and talent that local communities rely on for trusted news,” said SAG-AFTRA’s President Sean Astin in the release. “These actions highlight the risks of media consolidation and underscore the urgent need for regulators and the company to prioritize the public interest and the professionals who serve it.”
Nexstar operates 201 stations in 116 local markets in the U.S., reaching 70% of American households. It is the largest TV station ownership group in the U.S. Tegna owns television stations in 51 U.S. markets. Following the pending $6.2-billion merger, the standing company will have 265 stations, representing 80% of U.S. TV households.
President Trump has expressed his support for the deal in a social media post earlier this month.
He wrote, “Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar – Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level. Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future.”
Embassy staffers and dependents evacuating, airlines suspending service, eyes in Iran warily turning skyward for signs of an attack.
The prospects of a showdown between the U.S. and Iran loom ever higher, as massive American naval and air power lies in wait off Iran’s shores and land borders.
Yet little of that urgency is felt in Iran’s government. Rather than quickly acquiescing to President Trump’s demands, Iranian diplomats persist in the kind of torturously slow diplomatic dance that marked previous discussions with the U.S., a pace that prompted Trump to declare on Friday that the Iranians were not negotiating in “good faith.”
But For Iran’s leadership, Iranian experts say, concessions of the sort Trump are asking for about nuclear power and the country’s role in the Middle East undermine the very ethos of the Islamic Republic and the decades-old project it has created.
“As an Islamic theocracy, Iran serves as a role model for the Islamic world. And as a role model, we cannot capitulate,” said Hamid Reza Taraghi, who heads international affairs for Iran’s Islamic Coalition Party, or Hezb-e Motalefeh Eslami.
Besides, he added, “militarily we are strong enough to fight back and make any enemy regret attacking us.”
Even as another round of negotiations ended with no resolution this week, the U.S. has completed a buildup involving more than 150 aircraft into the region, along with roughly a third of all active U.S. ships.
Observers say those forces remain insufficient for anything beyond a short campaign of a few weeks or a high-intensity kinetic strike.
Iran would be sure to retaliate, perhaps against an aircraft carrier or the many U.S. military bases arrayed in the region. Though such an attack is unlikely to destroy its target, it could damage or at least disrupt operations, demonstrating that “American power is not untouchable,” said Hooshang Talé, a former Iranian parliamentarian.
Tehran could also mobilize paramilitary groups it cultivated in the region, including Iraqi militias and Yemen’s Houthis, Talé added. Other U.S. rivals, such as Russia and China, may seize the opportunity to launch their own campaigns elsewhere in the world while the U.S. remains preoccupied in the Middle East, he said.
“From this perspective, Iran would not be acting entirely alone,” Tale said. “Indirect alignment among U.S. adversaries — even without a formal alliance — would create a cascading effect.”
We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating and, again, they cannot have nuclear weapons
— President Trump
The U.S. demands Iran give up all nuclear enrichment and relinquish existing stockpiles of enriched uranium so as to stop any path to developing a bomb. Iran has repeatedly stated it does not want to build a nuclear weapon and that nuclear enrichment would be for exclusively peaceful purposes.
The Trump administration has also talked about curtailing Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support to proxy groups, such as Hezbollah, in the region, though those have not been consistent demands. Tehran insists the talks should be limited to the nuclear issue.
After indirect negotiations on Thursday, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi — the mediator for the talks in Geneva — lauded what he said was “significant progress.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said there had been “constructive proposals.”
Trump, however, struck a frustrated tone when speaking to reporters on Friday.
“We’re not exactly happy with the way they’re negotiating and, again, they cannot have nuclear weapons,” he said.
Trump also downplayed concerns that an attack could escalate into a longer conflict.
This frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire during an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9.
(Uncredited / Associated Press)
“I guess you could say there’s always a risk. You know, when there’s war, there’s a risk in anything, both good and bad,” Trump said.
Three days earlier, in his State of the Union address Tuesday, said, “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon — can’t let that happen.”
There are other signs an attack could be imminent.
On Friday, the U.S. Embassy in Israel allowed staff to leave the country if they wished. That followed an earlier move this week to evacuate dependents in the embassy in Lebanon. Other countries have followed suit, including the U.K, which pulled its embassy staff in Tehran. Meanwhile, several airlines have suspended service to Israel and Iran.
A U.S. military campaign would come at a sensitive time for Iran’s leadership.
The country’s armed forces are still recovering from the June war with Israel and the U.S, which left more than 1,200 people dead and more than 6,000 injured in Iran. In Israel, 28 people were killed and dozens injured.
Unrest in January — when security forces killed anywhere from 3,000 to 30,000 protesters (estimates range wildly) — means the government has no shortage of domestic enemies. Meanwhile, long-term sanctions have hobbled Iran’s economy and left most Iranians desperately poor.
Despite those vulnerabilities, observers say the U.S. buildup is likely to make Iran dig in its heels, especially because it would not want to set the precedent of giving up positions at the barrel of a U.S. gun.
Other U.S. demands would constitute red lines. Its missile arsenal, for example, counts as its main counter to the U.S. and Israel, said Rose Kelanic, Director of the Middle East Program at the Defense Priorities think tank.
“Iran’s deterrence policy is defense by attrition. They act like a porcupine so the bear will drop them… The missiles are the quills,” she said, adding that the strategy means Iran cannot fully defend against the U.S., but could inflict pain.
At the same time, although mechanisms to monitor nuclear enrichment exist, reining in Tehran’s support for proxy groups would be a much harder matter to verify.
But the larger issue is that Iran doesn’t trust Trump to follow through on whatever the negotiations reach.
After all, it was Trump who withdrew from an Obama-era deal designed to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, despite widespread consensus Iran was in compliance.
Trump and numerous other critics complained Iran was not constrained in its other “malign activities,” such as support for militant groups in the Middle East and development of ballistic missiles. The Trump administration embarked on a policy of “maximum pressure” hoping to bring Iran to its knees, but it was met with what Iran watchers called maximum resistance.
In June, he joined Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, a move that didn’t result in the Islamic Republic returning to negotiations and accepting Trump’s terms. And he has waxed wistfully about regime change.
“Trump has worked very hard to make U.S. threats credible by amassing this huge military force offshore, and they’re extremely credible at this point,” Kelanic said.
“But he also has to make his assurances credible that if Iran agrees to U.S. demands, that the U.S. won’t attack Iran anyway.”
Talé, the former parliamentarian, put it differently.
“If Iranian diplomats demonstrate flexibility, Trump will be more emboldened,” he said. “That’s why Iran, as a sovereign nation, must not capitulate to any foreign power, including America.”
The morning after Netflix clinched its deal to buy Warner Bros., Paramount Skydance Chairman David Ellison assembled a war room of trusted advisors, including his billionaire father, Larry Ellison.
Furious at Warner Bros. Discovery Chief David Zaslav for ending the auction, the Ellisons and their team began plotting their comeback on that crisp December day.
To rattle Warner Bros. Discovery and its investors, they launched a three-front campaign: a lawsuit, a hostile takeover bid and direct lobbying of the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
“There was a master battle plan — and it was extremely disciplined,” said one auction insider who was not authorized to comment publicly.
Netflix stunned the industry late Thursday by pulling out of the bidding, clearing the way for Paramount to claim the company that owns HBO, HBO Max, CNN, TBS, Food Network and the Warner Bros. film and television studios in Burbank. The deal was valued at more than $111 billion.
The streaming giant’s reversal came just hours after co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos met with Atty Gen. Pam Bondi and a deputy at the White House. It was a cordial session, but the Trump officials told Sarandos that his deal was facing significant hurdles in Washington, according to a person close to the administration who was not authorized to comment publicly.
“Netflix played their cards well; however, Paramount played their cards perfectly,” said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media Co. “They did exactly what they had to do and when they had to do it — which was at the very last moment.”
Key to victory was Larry Ellison, his $200-billion fortune and his connections to President Trump and congressional Republicans.
Paramount also hired Trump’s former antitrust chief, attorney Makan Delrahim, to quarterback the firm’s legal and regulatory action.
Republicans during a Senate hearing this month piled onto Sarandos with complaints about potential monopolistic practices and “woke” programming.
David Ellison skipped that hearing. This week, however, he attended Trump’s State of the Union address in the Capitol chambers, a guest of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The two men posed, grinning and giving a thumbs-up, for a photo that was posted to Graham’s X account.
David Ellison, the chairman and chief executive of Paramount Skydance Corp., walks through Statuary Hall to the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026.
(Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
On Friday, Netflix said it had received a $2.8-billion payment — a termination fee Paramount agreed to pay to send Netflix on its way.
Long before David Ellison and his family acquired Paramount and CBS last summer, the 43-year-old tech scion and aircraft pilot already had his sights set on Warner Bros. Discovery.
Paramount’s assets, including MTV, Nickelodeon and the Melrose Avenue movie studio, have been fading. Ellison recognized he needed the more robust company — Warner Bros. Discovery — to achieve his ambitions.
“From the very beginning, our pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery has been guided by a clear purpose: to honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company,” David Ellison said in a Friday statement. “We couldn’t be more excited for what’s ahead.”
Warner’s chief, Zaslav, who had initially opposed the Paramount bid, added: “We look forward to working with Paramount to complete this historic transaction.”
Netflix, in a separate statement, said it was unwilling to go beyond its $82.7-billion proposal that Warner board members accepted Dec. 4.
“We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs,” Sarandos and co-Chief Executive Greg Peters said in a statement.
“But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price,” the Netflix chiefs said.
Netflix may have miscalculated the Ellison family’s determination when it agreed Feb. 16 to allow Paramount back into the bidding.
The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company already had prevailed in the auction, and had an agreement in hand. Its next step was a shareholder vote.
“They didn’t need to let Paramount back in, but there was a lot of pressure on them to make sure the process wouldn’t be challenged,” Miller said.
In addition, Netflix’s stock had also been pummeled — the company had lost a quarter of its value — since investors learned the company was making a Warner run.
Upon news that Netflix had withdrawn, its shares soared Friday nearly 14% to $96.24.
Netflix Chief Executive Ted Sarandos arrives at the White House on Feb. 26, 2026.
(Andrew Leyden / Getty Images)
Invited back into the auction room, Paramount unveiled a much stronger proposal than the one it submitted in December.
The elder Ellison had pledged to personally guarantee the deal, including $45.7 billion in equity required to close the transaction. And if bankers became worried that Paramount was too leveraged, the tech mogul agreed to put in more money in order to secure the bank financing.
That promise assuaged Warner Bros. Discovery board members who had fretted for weeks that they weren’t sure Ellison would sign on the dotted line, according to two people close to the auction who were not authorized to comment.
Paramount’s pressure campaign had been relentless, first winning over theater owners, who expressed alarm over Netflix’s business model that encourages consumers to watch movies in their homes.
During the last two weeks, Sarandos got dragged into two ugly controversies.
First, famed filmmaker James Cameron endorsed Paramount, saying a Netflix takeover would lead to massive job losses in the entertainment industry, which is already reeling from a production slowdown in Southern California that has disrupted the lives of thousands of film industry workers.
Then, a week ago, Trump took aim at Netflix board member Susan Rice, a former high-level Obama and Biden administration official. In a social media post, Trump called Rice a “no talent … political hack,” and said that Netflix must fire her or “pay the consequences.”
The threat underscored the dicey environment for Netflix.
Additionally, Paramount had sowed doubts about Netflix among lawmakers, regulators, Warner investors and ultimately the Warner board.
Paramount assured Warner board members that it had a clear path to win regulatory approval so the deal would quickly be finalized. In a show of confidence, Delrahim filed to win the Justice Department’s blessing in December — even though Paramount didn’t have a deal.
This month, a deadline for the Justice Department to raise issues with Paramount’s proposed Warner takeover passed without comment from the Trump regulators.
“Analysts believe the deal is likely to close,” TD Cowen analysts said in a Friday report. “While Paramount-WBD does present material antitrust risks (higher pay TV prices, lower pay for TV/movie workers), analysts also see a key pro-competitive effect: improved competition in streaming, with Paramount+ and HBO Max representing a materially stronger counterweight to #1 Netflix.”
Throughout the battle, David Ellison relied on support from his father, attorney Delrahim, and three key board members: Oracle Executive Vice Chair Safra A. Catz; RedBird Capital Partners founder Gerry Cardinale; and Justin Hamill, managing director of tech investment firm Silver Lake.
In the final days, David Ellison led an effort to flip Warner board members who had firmly supported Netflix. With Paramount’s improved offer, several began leaning toward the Paramount deal.
On Tuesday, Warner announced that Paramount’s deal was promising.
On Thursday, Warner’s board determined Paramount’s deal had topped Netflix. That’s when Netflix surrendered.
“Paramount had a fulsome, 360-degree approach,” Miller said. “They approached it financially. … They understood the regulatory environment here and abroad in the EU. And they had a game plan for every aspect.”
On Friday, Paramount shares rose 21% to $13.51.
It was a reversal of fortunes for David Ellison, who appeared on CNBC just three days after that war room meeting in December.
“We put the company in play,” David Ellison told the CNBC anchor that day. “We’re really here to finish what we started.”
Times staff writer Ana Cabellos and Business Editor Richard Verrier contributed to this report.
No major league team has won more than 116 games. The Dodgers had yet to play an exhibition game last spring when former Times columnist Dylan Hernández declared they could win 120.
Not to be outdone, the Dodgers were one week into the season when Bill Plaschke posted a column with this headline: “Who says the Dodgers can’t go 162-0?”
“I don’t know what’s realistic,” he said. “We win a lot of games. Honestly, we showed last year that the regular season certainly does matter but, at the end of the day, you’ve got to be playing your best baseball at the right time.”
During the Dodgers’ 13-year playoff run, they‘ve won 100 games five times. When doing that, they‘ve made it to the World Series once, losing to the cheating Houston Astros. In 2023, they won exactly 100 games in the regular season and exactly zero in the playoffs.
It is one of baseball’s eternal verities that wins and losses in spring training do not matter.
“It’s always fun to win,” said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations. “That is always way more fun than losing. But so much of spring training is, just don’t get a call from our trainer. Keep guys healthy.
“That is far and away the biggest priority: get guys ready for the season and keep them healthy.”
Noah Miller runs the bases during a spring training game against the Angels on Feb. 21.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
If winning in spring training is not predictive, neither is it irrelevant. For an organization that would rather prime a pitcher for the postseason than dare use him for 200 innings in the regular season, and juggle a roster spot all summer so Kiké “Mr. October” Hernández can be available in the postseason, depth is critical.
“While there is no direct correlation between that and how you are going to do in the regular season, I do think it is some kind of proxy for the depth that you have,” Friedman said. “After three or four innings, there is a line change, and minor league players are coming in. I think being able to maintain a high level of play in these back-side innings speaks to depth.”
Friedman is no great fan of the Cactus League grind.
“So much of spring training, it feels like, is just downside,” he said. “You’re just waiting for that phone call [from the trainer]. You’re doing everything you can to stave that phone call off.”
The upside is on the business side. As of Thursday, tickets for Saturday’s exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs started at $97. The starters are likely to play half the game. Shohei Ohtani is in Japan, preparing for the World Baseball Classic.
So, to the point: It does not matter that the Dodgers are undefeated in spring training, and they’ll probably win somewhere around 100 games. They did, after all, repair their two glaring weaknesses by committing $300 million to All-Stars in the prime of their careers: outfielder Kyle Tucker and closer Edwin Díaz.
Baseball Prospectus projects the Dodgers to win 104 games. Fangraphs projects 99.
But this is the season of hyperbole, so the Dodgers still have a chance to go 194-0 between the Cactus League and the regular season.
I had to ask Roberts how good he thought the Dodgers’ chances would be this season if they never lost.
Just months ago, Demi capped off a stellar career comeback by being named Glamour’s Woman of the Year.
She was interviewed by her Substance co-star Margaret Qualley for the mag and said: “With everything I’ve been through, which has been a lot, I wouldn’t trade where I am today.”
She added a difference with her younger self is the “freedom to know I don’t have to have the answer, and life is not going to be completely stolen from me if I somehow don’t know”.
The actress has battled countless traumas and rejections during her life – including her biological dad leaving before she was born, saving her drug addicted mum from suicide, two spells in rehab and being raped aged 15.
The star of Ghost, Indecent Proposal and A Few Good Men’s return to form in the satirical horror movie The Substance is one of the greatest Hollywood comebacks of all time.
Having struggled to land a hit movie over the past couple of decades, Demi thought “this was it.”
In her speech, Demi said: “In those moments when we don’t think we’re smart enough, or pretty enough, or skinny enough, or are basically just not enough, I had a woman say to me, ‘Just know you will never be enough but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.’”
Demi didn’t follow up her win by bagging an Oscar, that award went to Mikey Madison, however she wasn’t upset by it.
She told Time: “I didn’t feel gutted.
“I didn’t feel any of those kinds of things.
“I just trusted, and am in trust of, whatever is going to unfold.”
She is set to present an award at this year’s ceremony on March 15 in LA, alongside other A-list talent lie Javier Bardem, Adrien Brody and Zoe Saldaña.
Demi Moore held her pet chihuahua at the fashion showCredit: GettyShe wore her shorter hair in a wet look styleCredit: GettyDemi is flying high after her Golden Globes win last yearCredit: GettyDemi in 1996 cult flick StripteaseCredit: Alamy
In one of the strangest weeks in City Section soccer history, six-time champion Birmingham High, which was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs two weeks ago, defeated Venice 6-0 on Thursday to earn a spot against rival El Camino Real in Saturday’s 6 p.m. Open Division boys’ final.
The Patriots got a second chance to avenge their earlier loss to Marquez via penalty kicks when semifinalists Marquez and South East were removed from the playoffs for using an ineligible player. The City Section decided to have first-round losers Birmingham and Venice play for the right to face El Camino Real.
Five City Section teams in the playoffs have had to forfeit games because players participated in outside leagues during their high school season in violation of CIF bylaw 600.
“It’s been a crazy week,” Birmingham goalie Alexis Villagran said. “We’re blessed for the opportunity.”
Birmingham coach Gus Villalobos was preparing to take back his players’ uniforms this week to end the season. Now they are one win away from a City title. Players look tired at times because they hadn’t practiced since their loss on Feb. 6. Villagran was allowed to play even though he took part in a club match after he thought the season ended. The state CIF approved the waiver.
Robert Mejia gets his second penalty kick goal. Birmingham 4, Venice 0. Bring on El Camino Real for a third time to decide Open Division title. pic.twitter.com/Nl77pKhFOp
Robert Mejia, who scored two goals on penalty kicks and has 26 goals this season, is in his first year playing for Birmingham after being a member of the L.A. Galaxy youth academy program. He said both his club coach and high school coach made it clear you can’t play club during the high school season.
“We all know the rules,” he said.
The continual violation of CIF bylaw 600 has left City Section commissioner Vicky Lagos scrambling to replace teams. The latest team to discover a violation was Gardena in Division III, allowing Sun Valley Magnet to advance to the final. Lagos also received information about City Division II finalist Garfield, but as of Thursday night, she said the Bulldogs have been cleared to play Santee in the final.
After a scoreless first half, Birmingham sophomore Hayden Quiambao started a six-goal surge with a header to open the second half.
At the Royal Festival Hall she wore a figure-hugging red satin gown with a silhouetted cape and a fan-like neckline for the ultimate sexy senorita look.
Maura’s career is on the up and she’s been making big waves in America.
The 35-year-old hosts the Love IslandUSA spin-off show Aftersun and is in the final of Celebrity Traitors, where she struck up a friendship with Real Housewife Lisa Rinna.
She recently attended an event celebrating Lisa’s new book, You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About It.
The former reality TV bombshell, who shot to fame in 2019 with her razor-sharp one-liners and no-filter flirting, is fast becoming a US sensation.
While his relationship drama played out publicly, trolls piled into Maura online, landing the blame firmly at her door.
For a short while, she went quiet — but instead of retreating, she soon landed a spot on The Traitors US, which is hosted by actor Alan Cumming.
And what looked like a reputational wobble in the UK has since become a full-blown American reinvention.
A source said: “When the Traitors came knocking, she knew it could turn things around for her. Maura jumped straight into action. She was a woman who had something to prove.”
After filming wrapped on the US series at Ardross Castle in Scotland last June, Maura walked away feeling confident that she had smashed it, according to pals.
She has now signed up with top-tier agency Align PR, whose clients include Madonna and Hollywood stars Matthew McConaughey and Bryce Dallas Howard.
She has even been doing some acting herself, landing a role in an Irish buddy movie, The Spin, due to be released later this month.
She was a sexy senorita at the Baftas on SundayCredit: GettyMaura is taking the US by stormCredit: Getty
U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu made quite an impression at the Milan-Cortina Olympics with her unique style, her compelling backstory and, of course, her gold medals in the women’s singles competition — the first for an American woman since 2002 — and in the team event.
Her feats captured the attention of local artist Gustavo Zermeño Jr. He wanted to be sure to capture all of it in his new mural paying tribute to the 20-year-old athlete in Gardena.
“Obviously her winning gold was the main factor” in his choosing to paint Liu, Zermeño said.
But once the Mexican-American artist learned more about the Chinese-American skater, he found inspiration in other aspects of her life as well. That includes the Oakland native’s two-year retirement from the sport starting at age 16, her enrollment at UCLA and her decision to express herself in her own way.
“She’s first-generation American, just like myself,” Zermeño said. “So I feel like that tie, her going to UCLA, her stopping skating for awhile and then jumping back in and more being herself — you know, growing up in Venice, I feel like that’s what kind of made me an artist. Venice allowed me to be myself, be wacky on the boardwalk, artists, performers, stuff like that.
U.S. figure skater Alysa Liu poses with the gold medal she won in the women’s singles Feb. 19 at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.
(Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
“So I feel like there were a lot of connections beyond her just winning the gold medal. But ultimately, I think she just deserves her flowers, man. She accomplished something, and I feel like her personality is what’s really garnering all this support from people.”
Zermeño was driving to get dinner near his home earlier this week and noticed a wall he thought would be perfect for his Liu-inspired project outside the Coe’s Glass & Mirror building at 15532 Crenshaw Blvd. It turned out that Zermeño casually knew the business owner, although Alex Lopez said he never realized his former next-door neighbor was a mural artist.
Still, Lopez approved the project immediately upon seeing samples of Zermeño’s work and a digitally created version of his idea for the Liu painting.
“I mean, I probably should have gone up the chain of command and asked the landlord’s permission, but I knew it was going to come out amazing,” Lopez said. “I just said, ‘Let’s go for it.’ The landlord came by this morning and loved the piece. He was really glad that we did it.”
Artist Gustavo Zermeno Jr. said he was inspired to paint a mural dedicated to U.S. skater Alysa Liu for reasons ‘beyond her just winning the gold medal.’
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
Zermeño started painting Tuesday and hopes to be finished early next week. The mural will feature three images of Liu, including two of her skating, but the centerpiece is a larger-than-life headshot of her from the women’s singles medal ceremony.
In it, the halo-haired athlete smiles broadly as she pretends to take a bite out of her gold medal, putting on full display her now-famous “smiley” piercing in the tissue connecting her upper lip to her gums.
‘I think it really represents her personality and where she’s from, the Bay Area,’ artist Gustavo Zermeño Jr. said of his mural dedicated to U.S. skater and Oakland native Alysa Liu.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“I like that it’s a little rough around the edges, but beautiful at the same time,” Zermeño said of the portrait. “I think it really represents her personality and where she’s from, the Bay Area. And so I feel like it just looks, you know, a little hood but at the same time, her being a figure skater, has that softness to it. And that’s kind of what I wanted.”
Lopez added: “I love it. Just her in general, as a person, I think she’s great. What she was able to accomplish in the Olympics is amazing for the United States and just for California. I’m honored to have her mural here. I feel like it represents the community and our business really well.”
He wanted to get back into the “Scream” franchise. Of course his character, Stu Macher, could survive a television being dropped on his head (though it’s said that he was electrocuted). Lillard even thought about dropping an actual TV on his head to prove that it was possible. Luckily, he didn’t go through with it, becausea lot of TV figuratively dropped on his head anyway.
The “Scooby-Doo” actor has been cast in several high-profile projects. He’s on “Cross,” the Amazon Prime show starring Aldis Hodge as a homicide detective and forensic psychologist. He will be in the eight-episode “Carrie” miniseries — yes, that Carrie — developed by filmmaker Mike Flanagan for Amazon MGM Studios. He’s dipping his toes in the Marvel cinematic pond with a role in Netflix’s “Daredevil: Born Again.”
On the big screen, he’s prepping for a third “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
All of this from an actor whom Quentin Tarantino (speaking on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast”) “doesn’t care for.” Lillard has answered questions about and commented on Tarantino’s viral comments often in the last few months. An actor for almost four decades, Lillard says he has built up a thick skin, but the comments were hurtful.
He talks about those comments, along with his recent projects, working with friends and his constant desire to say “F— ICE.”
So. Tarantino said some things about your (and Paul Dano’s) acting prowess …
Look, candidly, it was a weird moment. It was a bummer. It was a drag at the beginning. But I’ll say this — I have never felt so seen by this industry. My entire career, I felt like a blue-collar working-class actor trying to be in the best movies and do the best work I possibly can. In that moment, along comes an industry that I’ve served now for 35 years, rising up and saying really lovely things. I said, in the past, it felt like I was living through my own wake. You don’t normally see that outpouring of love until after somebody passes. At the end of the day, it ends up being a really beautiful moment for me.
It’s not like I’m this fragile little thing. I’ve been around a long time. Did it suck? Sure.
This Quentin Tarantino thing … I’m good. I love his films. It also sucked because I was like, “Oh, I would love to get in there and kick ass for him.” But whatever. It is not about the box office wins that week. It’s about a body of work, a community of friends, and longevity that really defines. Which is the goal, and it defines a life well spent.
You mentioned longevity, and a quick IMDb search shows that Shaggy is your world! There’s so much “Scooby–Doo.” Straight-to-video. Live-action. Video games.
Yeah. Isn’t that crazy?
Looking back, how did you approach doing the voice work and being in the movies, and what was your thought process when that first came to you?
My first thought process was, “I’m getting that job.” I’m like, “I will kill that.” The way I got into the voice was that I would have to scream myself hoarse. I’ll never forget coming down and being in the car, an empty Warner Bros. lot, screaming to prepare my voice for the audition, and having Chuck Roven, the producer, walk by and knock on the window and be like, “Dude, are you OK?”
The first movie was so successful that I felt like I was launched. James Gunn and I went in and pitched “Plastic Man” at Warner Bros. I felt like, “Oh, I’m now an option to be No. 1 on a call sheet.” Then “Scooby-Doo 2” came out, didn’t do great, and started a reset of my career that took a couple of years.
I look back now at 56 years old and think, without that, I wouldn’t be in this career. I don’t know if I would have been around long enough to get this comeback that I’m in the middle of and enjoying.
“Scream 7” revisits one of the most successful horror franchises ever. How did you feel about being approached to come back? Can you say much about your role?
Ghostface in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”
(Brownie Harris / Paramount Pictures / Spyglass Media Group)
I’m not going to lie, I was over the moon. At some point, right before I got the offer, probably three or four months before I got the offer, [“Scream” franchise creator] Kevin Williamson put it out in the world that the “Scream” franchise does not need Matthew Lillard. I remember reading that and thinking to myself, “Why don’t you just leave me alone? I’m planning on getting back in.”
[Film producers] Radio Silence had set up in [the fifth and sixth films] the potential or the whisperings that Stu was still alive. So I was like, “We’re trending in the right direction here. Why is Kevin Williamson kicking me in the teeth?” And the funny thing is, he called me in the middle of the afternoon and he’s like, “Are you interested in coming back?” I was super excited. And … there’s not a lot I can say about the movie, for obvious reasons. But I think that people are going to be really excited.
You’re continuing in the horror field with “Carrie.” No release date yet, but what can you say about it?
I had a small scene [in “Life of Chuck”], but the scene’s great and the movie’s beautiful. I saw Kevin Williamson at [“Life of Chuck” and “Carrie” producer] Mike Flanagan’s house because we were playing a game of “Mafia.” I was doing “Five Nights at Freddy’s” and I was sitting talking to Mike and he was talking about doing “Carrie” and everything he’s got coming up. After he and I did “Life of Chuck,” he’s like, “Well, congratulations. You’re now in the Flanafam.” He works a lot with the same actors.
I finally got up the courage to say, “Hey, listen, what is that? I mean, if I’m in the Flanafam, what does that mean? How does that work? Am I supposed to tell you my schedule?” He’s like, “Oh, no, no, no. I have a part for you in ‘Carrie.’ I want you to come and do ‘Carrie’ if you’re interested.”
Everyone knows the story. Carrie, pig blood, all that. But that De Palma version only uses certain specific aspects of the book. The thing I’m excited about is that Mike Flanagan pulls in elements of the book that are not necessarily in the first film, and then adds headlines ripped from today’s day and age in terms of bullying and things we’re seeing in social media and all of that. So he’s giving it a new lens to look at what bullying looks like for kids today. I saw the first three episodes — the entire cast gathered at a screening room — and it blew me away.
Summer Howell plays Carrie, and she’s incredible, and Sam Sloyan plays her mother. There’s three basic parties. There’s the kids, there’s the parents, and then there’s the faculty. I play the principal at the school, watching the entire thing fall apart around them.
You’re also dipping your toes in the world of Marvel with “Daredevil: Born Again.”
I can talk about “Daredevil” a little. I played Dungeon & Dragons with three incredible showrunners. Dario Scardapane, who runs “Daredevil,” Matt Nix, who’s doing the new “Baywatch,” and then Elwood Reid, who does “Tracker.” I’m their dungeon master. We play with Abraham Benrubi, this beautiful actor (“ER,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), a dear friend of mine. … Dario brought me in to play Mr. Charles [on “Daredevil: Born Again”], who’s like a CIA spook. He’s a guy that controls power from afar. He helps nations rise and fall, but he’s very clandestine. He is not impressed by the powers of [Vincent] D’Onofrio’s character [Kingpin] at all. He and I get into this really delicious struggle over power. It’s good. It’s fun.
Matthew Lillard taps “Scream” vibes with Ghost Face Vodka, whose release will coincide with the seventh installment of the film franchise.
(Andreas Branch)
You’ve combined storytellingwith alcohol for your lines of whiskey, vodkas and the like. How did you decide to mix the two?
I started a Dungeons & Dragons company six years ago now called Beadle & Grimm’s. Somebody approached me about building a spirits company around Dungeons & Dragons.For me, what I heard in that was like, “Hey, build a luxury item for niche communities that people don’t always respect and know and understand.” My experience with Beadle & Grimm’s was very clear. They will come out and support it.
So we created Quest’s End Whiskey. Quest’s End is a 16-bottle drop over four years. Each bottle is a different character class, but each bottle delivers a new chapter of an ongoing saga. We sold out in the first two weeks. In a week, we had 25,000 people on the waiting list to purchase that first bottle.
I know the impact that “Scream” [has] had on the horror community. I realized that if we could license the [intellectual property] of [film villain] Ghostface that we could make something super badass that fans would go crazy for. It took us a while to secure those rights. But once we did, we built Ghost Face Vodka.Our hope was to sell 2,000 units of a collector’s edition. We had 40,000 people sign up for early access in the first 72 hours.
Ghost Face Vodka has a game on the back, a QR code. When you sit down, all your people can hit that QR code with their smartphones and load an automated game of “Mafia.” It’s a communal game. It’s like two or three of you are Mafia members, and you have to figure out who that is. And it’s super fun. Again, trying to build community. Our hope is that, launching around “Scream 7,” it’s going to catch the zeitgeist and blow up.
Lastly, we have “Cross,” your most current TV project.
Matthew Lillard in “Cross.”
(Ian Watson / Amazon MGM Studios Prime Video)
I’m in love with that creative team and Aldis Hodge and everything he represents. I don’t think people understand that that show did 40 million views in the first 20 days for Amazon. It is unapologetically a Black show that … it feels like it’s being ripped from the headlines. I think Aldis Hodge and the creative team do an incredible job representing a man who is a Black man as a detective in this world. The relationships, the friendships, the bonds he has with his community — just being around that creative team has been really inspiring, and [show creator] Ben Watkins is an incredible storyteller.
I think the thing about “Cross” is that it really challenges you, especially given what we’re living through in this moment. I have to say it — politically speaking, we’re in a s— storm. I went viral a month ago about saying, ‘F— ICE.’ But … f— ICE.
Could you describe your character?
Another dubious character. He’s a billionaire named Lance Durand, and he’s out to solve world hunger. Sometimes, a billionaire has very questionable scruples as to the best ways to go about things. Solve world hunger, kill all the people. That’s how you do it.
The whole series opens up with a bunch of middle-aged white men on an island doing horrible things to girls. So when I say “ripped from the freaking headlines” … It’s, like, crazy.
We made it! After this weekend, when the Producers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild hand out their highly predictive precursors, the final shape of the Oscar race should be (reasonably) clear — and nominees worn out by months of campaigning will be breathing a sigh of relief.
Before I share highlights from this week’s issue, one programming note: This will be my last letter from the editor until our inaugural Cannes issue drops in May. (Don’t worry, I will be plenty busy in the interim catching up on this year’s top Emmy contenders.)
Thanks as always for following along, and may you triumph in your Oscar pool!
Cover story: Rose Byrne
(Ryan Pfluger / For The Times)
Times columnist Mary McNamara and I don’t agree on everything, but we do agree on this: “Damages” deserves to be ranked alongside “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” in any discussion of the Golden Age of TV.
That’s thanks in one part to a gripping flash-forward narrative structure now so common it could be considered a cliché, and in another to Glenn Close’s indelible performance as ruthless litigator Patty Hewes. But it’s also a testament to the multifaceted talents of Rose Byrne, who went “toe-to-toe” with Close in what would become her breakthrough role — and then confidently pivoted to projects like “Insidious,” “Bridesmaids” and “Spy.”
“Byrne is something of a creative chameleon, moving easily from drama to comedy to horror, film to television to stage and back again,” McNamara writes in this week’s cover story. “In many ways, her gut-wrenching, darkly funny performance as a woman pushed beyond all endurance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is a culmination of all the characters she brought to life before it.”
Inside Warner Bros.’ dominant Oscar haul
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Whether you come down on the side of “Sinners” or “One Battle After Another” in the best picture race may be perfect fodder for debate with friends over a few small beers, but for Warner Bros. executives Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy it would be akin to choosing a favorite child. After all, both projects emerged from the pair’s desire, as contributor Gregory Ellwood writes, to make WB “a destination where filmmakers of all varieties, including auteurs, bring their projects for ‘white glove’ treatment.”
As De Luca explains, “Everything was original once… If you don’t refresh the coffers with new IP to create new franchises, at some point you get to Chapter 10 or 11 and people start to move on.”
The many faces of ‘The Secret Agent’
(Ryan Pfluger/For The Times)
The moment Tânia Maria arrives onscreen as Dona Sebastiana in “The Secret Agent,” you can’t help but ask yourself, “Who is that?!” (Star Wagner Moura had the same reaction.) But the real feat casting director Gabriel Domingues pulls off in the Oscar-nominated Brazilian thriller is to make you ask yourself the same question, over and over, every time a new character appears.
How did Domingues find a range of actors to represent the country’s endless diversity? It’s part of his process, writes contributor Carlos Aguilar: “He prides himself on doing the shoe-leather work of looking for fresh, compelling faces in cities where others might not think to look — those without a prominent arts scene, for instance.”
WHEN it comes to having A-list siblings, these two nepo-sisters are at the top of their game.
The two women, who both have popstars for sisters, looked incredible as they stepped into their spotlight at London Fashion Week – but can you guess who they are related to?
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Can you guess who this aspiring model’s famous sister is?Credit: GettyThis nepo-sister has started a career as a model and was spotted at the Burberry party at London fashion WeekCredit: GettyThis stunning woman also has a huge pop star for a sisterCredit: GettyThis nepo-sister was spotted at several London Fashion Week eventsCredit: Getty
The nepo-sisters in question are Rita Ora‘s sister Elena, 37, and Dua Lipa‘s little sis Rina, 24,
The pair were spotted posing for the cameras at London Fashion Week.
Dua’s sister Rina looked chic in white trousers and a striking turquoise jacket.
The aspiring model was spotted at the after party for the Burberry 2026 show.
Meanwhile, Rita’s big sister Elena looked stunning in a black cut-away dress at the Royal Ascot Millinery Collective, which was held at posh hotel, Claridge’s.
At another London Fashion Week event earlier in the week, she looked equally incredible in a black and gold dress.
Elena works as Rita’s talent manager, creative director, and business partner.
The pair are extremely close, and the popstar involves her big sister in every aspect of her life.
Rita was just a year old when her parents moved her and three-year-old Elena to the UK to escape persecution in Kosovo.
But the pair have gone onto become a sibling powerhouse.
Rita and Elena are extremly closeCredit: Instagram
Rita has had Elena by her side since she shot to fame in 2012.
Elena previously said that her little sister’s success is a “team celebration” for both of them, as she has been such a big part of her fame.
“I get as proud of the success as Rita does. But I guess the public only sees her reaction to it,” Elena told Idris and Sabrina Elba on the Coupledom podcast, when she chatted to them in 2021 with Rita.
“It feels like a team thing. Obviously the public just sees Rita, but to us that’s just how it is, you know?”
Elena is known for enjoying showbiz parties thanks to her celebrity connectionsCredit: Getty
Rita added: “Elena is really good at protecting me. I think that is so important in this industry.”
Together the sisters have negotiated movie roles, fashion brand deals and lucrative TV contracts.
But the sisters admitted on the podcast that there has often been a battle for Elena to be taken seriously.
“It’s really tough in such a male dominated industry to really stand up for yourselves and navigate this s**t,” Rita candidly admitted.
Rita Ora Stuns in see thru dress with lookalike sister elenaCredit: instagramElena and Rita appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox togetherCredit: Refer to source
“What do they expect people in power to look like? There’s not an identity.”
Continuing, proud sister Rita said of Elena:“But she’s never lost her cool. She’s always kept it very together.” Rita says she has always had the same trusted people around her in her career.
“I try to keep my team very small. I don’t really like change. That’s why I’ve had the same team for over 10 years. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
Rina is making a name for herself as model and has worked for VersaceCredit: Getty
Meanwhile, Dua Lipa‘s sister Rina is forging a career as a model
The rising star has done well for herself and has already worked with fashion houses like Miu Miu and Versace.
The model has also walked the runway at the prestigious Milan Fashion Week.
Rina has also set her sights on becoming an actress.
Dua is also very close to her sister RinaCredit: Instagram/dualipa
Speaking about going on auditions, she told Nylon: “There’s something about walking into the room and saying, ‘Hi, nice to meet you,’ and having that energy and that aura and that little repertoire between people.
“You can leave feeling like you had a connection if you walk in and you’re a bit bubbly and you are happy to be there. I’m really happy to do really fun auditions. Even if I don’t get the job, that’s absolutely fine.”
Rina got her first taste of fame when her big sister pulled her and their younger brother Gjin up on stage at the Brit Awards.
It came in 2018, when the singer won the Best Female Solo Artist gong and invited her siblings to join her accepting the award,
Speaking to Off Set about the sweet moment, Dua said: “I didn’t even know what I was gonna say onstage and I was like, ‘Come with me! You two — with me.
“They were so terrified. When we got offstage, my little brother and sister were like, ‘Why did you do that to us?’ ”
“They were like, ‘We love you, but that’s crazy. Don’t do that one again.;”
The stunning sisters often share sweet selfies togetherCredit: instagram/rinalipa
The pitched battle for Warner Bros. took yet another turn Monday night as Paramount Skydance enhanced its bid for the storied studio.
The decision by Warner Bros. Discovery to leave the door slightly ajar for Paramount came after weeks of pressure from its leader, tech scion David Ellison, and his billionaire father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
The media company has been vying to acquire Warner since late last year, and that fight only increased after the “Casablanca” and “Harry Potter” studio chose Netflix as the winning bidder back in December.
The bidding war has divided Hollywood’s creative community, with filmmakers, producers and unions all staking positions on the deal.
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Samantha Masunaga delivers the latest news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
The latest to weigh in was “Avatar” and “Titanic” director James Cameron, who reportedly described Warner’s sale to Netflix as “disastrous for the theatrical motion picture business” in a Feb. 10 letter to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), chair of the Senate subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights.
“I am very familiar not only with ships that sail, but also those that sink,” he wrote. “And the theatrical experience of movies could become a sinking ship.”
Actor Mark Ruffalo shot back at Cameron: “Are you also against the monopolization that a Paramount acquisition would create? Or is it just that of Netflix?” he posted on Threads over the weekend, adding that he was “speaking on behalf of hundreds of thousands of filmmakers worldwide.”
Regardless of which bidder prevails, consolidation in the industry is a major fear, particularly after waves of job cuts due to the pandemic and pullbacks in production spending amid streaming losses. And for the theatrical exhibition business, any merger revives concerns about an even greater decrease in films headed to theaters — particularly if the winning bidder is Netflix.
The health and future of cinemas is an especially sensitive topic in Hollywood. Box office revenue still has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, and some fear it never will, leaving theaters scrambling for alternative ways to fill their auditoriums.
Paramount has positioned itself as a champion for theatrical films, and David Ellison has said a combined Paramount and Warner Bros. would release 30 films a year.
But theater owner trade group Cinema United and the Writers Guild of America have warned that further consolidation would further concentrate the entertainment business, bringing more layoffs and theater closures.
Netflix co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos has since tried to temper these concerns.
In a recent Senate subcommittee hearing, he pledged to maintain a 45-day theatrical window for Warner Bros. films, while also saying the deal would increase production investments going forward. In a recent letter to Lee responding to Cameron’s missive, Sarandos said he had previously spoken with the director in December about Netflix’s plans for Warner Bros., and that he had been “very supportive.”
To put it mildly, Trump is a deeply unpopular figure in liberal-leaning Hollywood.
Creatives have feared a chilling effect on speech, particularly after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has aggressively tried to enforce long-dormant rules that require broadcast TV stations to give equal time to opposing candidates. The free-speech matter came to a head last year, when Carr warned that ABC could lose its TV station licenses after late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made a remark about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
More recently, the equal-time rules resurfaced when CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert blasted his own network over its handling of his interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico. Colbert said that CBS told him he could not air the interview because it would require giving equal time to Talarico’s opponents in the Senate primary and that he was instructed not to talk about the issue on the air, which he refused. CBS has disputed Colbert’s comments, saying he was not prohibited from airing the interview.
News industry insiders also raised concerns after the installation of Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News. Two months into her tenure, she made the decision to pull a “60 Minutes” episode that investigated the alleged abuse of detainees sent from the U.S. to an El Salvador prison, a highly unusual step that critics interpreted as a decision to placate the Trump administration.
CBS News, which aired the episode in January, denied the claim, saying the piece had only been held for additional reporting.
On the film side, Paramount continues to make deals with creatives, including the irreverent South Park creators, who have churned out parodies of the Trump administration, “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu and writer, producer and actor Issa Rae, who in a statement earlier this year vowed to “tell stories for and by the diverse communities that have supported my work over the years.”
As the Warner Bros. deal drama unfolds, we’ll see how the lines continue to form in Hollywood’s creative class.
Stuff We Wrote
Film shoots
Number of the week
Sony Pictures Animation’s “Goat” led the domestic box office this weekend with an estimated three-day total of $17 million, beating out the Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi-led “Wuthering Heights.”
The film, which was also produced by Warriors star Stephen Curry’s production company, has bucked the trend for original animated movies, which have largely faltered at theaters in recent years.
Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where we dive into how to get the best out of big man Deandre Ayton and hear iconic Lakers coach Pat Riley praise current Lakers coach JJ Redick and his team.
The conundrum that is Deandre Ayton is now living with the Lakers.
All things Lakers, all the time.
They see the talent and skills. But they still are searching for the right ways to maximize what Ayton can offer.
They see the passion and love for the game. They want to get that out of Ayton on a consistent basis.
They see his sensitivity. They know that to bring out the best in Ayton takes patience and constant encouragement.
When the Lakers watched film of their loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, Redick used lines like “there’s positive trends” with Ayton and lines like “he could be better” in certain instances.
That is the paradox of Ayton.
As the Lakers enter the stretch run of the season with 26 games remaining, they need Ayton to play at a higher level more frequently if they are to be successful.
Against the Celtics, Ayton had just four points on two-for-six shooting. He had seven rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.
“There’s positive trends,” Redick said after practice Monday. “We did watch some film today. There was some real positive trends defensively. I think his spirit and engagement and stuff has been really good. I think for all the guys, if he has a smaller player on him, that’s an advantage for us. Let’s just get him the ball. I think it’s just thematically across the team, we have to pass it to each other more and trust each other more. …
“There was a clip last night or a play last night, Jaylen Brown goes to the floor. We’ve got a five-on-four and he [Ayton] goes at about 20% speed where it’s clearly a man-down situation. So in terms of him running and putting pressure on the rim and offensive rebounding, particularly against switches and smaller players, he could be better there.”
However, Redick, his staff and Ayton’s teammates want to be clear that they support him at all times.
Earlier this season, Redick gave his 7-foot center a T-shirt featuring Ayton’s face combined with the likeness of a lion.
“We want him to be the lion,” Redick said then.
“I have his back,” Redick said Monday. “These guys, we try to make them understand my job is to help the Lakers try to win basketball games. And so nothing is ever personal. If he doesn’t close a game, it’s not personal. It’s because I think there’s a better option. And that’s not just true for him personally. There’s essentially three guys on our team that if they’re on the lineup, they’re going to close games and everybody else [will rotate]. We talked about that today.”
Ayton is producing the lowest averages of his NBA career in points (13.0), rebounds (8.4) and minutes (28.1). His field-goal attempts (8.9) and makes (5.9) are lows too, but he’s shooting a career-high 66.6%.
“He’s done OK,” said Marcus Smart, who sits next to Ayton in the ’ locker room. “You know, he definitely could be better; we all could. But the thing I love about it is he understands it and he’s working. We all are trying to figure it out; this is new to everybody. He’s doing his best, but he understands it’s another notch that we need him to go to, and we’re going to try to get him there and help with that. But he knows he’s got to do his part as well.”
Ayton plays on a team with three dominant ballhandlers in Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, and it is their job to feed the 7-footer. Getting Ayton activated has been a positive for the Lakers. When he doesn’t get the touches, Ayton hasn’t been as productive.
Still, NBA scouts say Ayton can do a little more himself. He can run harder on the fast break, seal his man down low and play with force, roll to the basket with a purpose, use his athleticism to his advantage and play defense and rebound at a higher level.
Ayton came into the NBA with high expectations, the first overall pick in the 2018 draft, even going ahead of Doncic. Over five seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Ayton was a double-double machine, averaging 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds. He shot the ball more, averaging 12.5 field goal attempts per game. He averaged 12.8 in two seasons in Portland.
With the Lakers, he’s had to adjust his game.
“I’m sure it’s a big adjustment,” Smart said. “It was an adjustment for me when I came in … The type of player I was in college and coming in and the way I played both offensively and defensively, [now I’m] taking a more defensive approach more than offensive. So it definitely can be frustrating and it’s definitely a challenge because you still value and look at the opportunity that you have to be that person. But unfortunately, sometimes the circumstances don’t call for it. That’s the hard part, understanding that early. Like I said, we all could do better at that because we all want to win. Deandre is doing the best he can, and we appreciate that. We love it too because he also uses that to motivate himself, which can be a good thing.”
Riley praises Redick, Lakers
A statue of former Lakers coach Pat Riley is unveiled outside Crypto.com Arena.
(Greg Beacham / Associated Press)
After Pat Riley had his statue unveiled Sunday on Star Plaza outside of Crypto.com Arena, he took time to praise Redick.
Riley led the Lakers to four NBA championships in the ‘80s, his coaching style a big part of the Showtime era. He likes what he sees out of Redick and the Lakers.
“I love JJ. I really do,” Riley said. “I competed against him. My teams competed against him, you know, in various teams that he played with. He’s a fiery guy. He could shoot the hell out of the ball. He was tough as nails, you know. I don’t know. Sometimes I look back and I remember myself at that time and I looked at JJ and I think they picked the right person [for the Lakers job]. There’s just a quality about him, I think, that goes above and beyond.
“And they have a hell of a team for him right here, right now with Doncic and Reaves and obviously with LeBron. And so I think Rob [Pelinka, president of basketball operations] will continue with the new ownership to build that team and to complement those players. But they have a great opportunity and I think JJ will be a great coach for it.”
On tap
Tuesday vs. Orlando (30-26), 7:30 p.m.
The Magic are a deep and versatile team, with six players who score in double figures. Paolo Banchero leads them in scoring (21.5) and rebounds (8.4) and is second in assists (5.0). He’s shooting 45% from the field. Desmond Bane is one of three Orlando players averaging more than 20 points at 20.1, making 48.3% of his shots and 38.8% of his threes. He just dropped 36 in a win over the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back.
Thursday at Phoenix (33-25), 7 p.m. PST
Injuries are starting to take a toll on the Suns. Dillon Brooks has a broken left hand and reportedly is out four to six weeks. This comes on the heels of All-Star Devin Booker missing at least one week because of a right hip strain and fellow guards Grayson Allen (ankle/knee) and Jordan Goodwin (calf) also dealing with injuries.
Saturday at Golden State (30-27), 5:30 p.m.
The Warriors don’t have All-Star guard Stephen Curry (knee) and forward Jimmy Butler (torn ACL), leaving them without a lot of offensive firepower. The Warriors have been leaning on guard Brandin Podziemski to keep them afloat. He is averaging 12.1 points per game.
Sunday vs. Sacramento (12-46), 6:30 p.m.
The Kings have the worst record in the NBA. They have three players with season-ending surgeries — De’Andre Hunter (eye), Domantas Sabonis (knee) and Zach LaVine (hand).
Status report
Jaxson Hayes: right ankle injury
Redick said Hayes, who left Sunday’s game, got an MRI on Monday that showed his ankle had “a little bruise.” Hayes, the backup center, is day to day, Redick said. The Lakers listed Hayes as doubtful for Tuesday night’s game against the Magic at Crypto.com Arena.
“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow morning,” Redick said..
Favorite thing I ate this week
Risotto col codeghin e la peara from Tre Risotti Trattoria.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
Ciao! It’s Thuc Nhi checking in a final time from the Olympics. My final dinner of the Games had to honor northern Italy, so instead of just pizza or pasta, I went searching specifically for risotto. In Verona, before the closing ceremony, I asked the server at Tre Risotti Trattoria what the most popular risotto was and she suggested the risotto col codeghin e la peara (risotto with sausage and pepper sauce). She didn’t miss. The salty, creamy bite with the crunchy crouton around the plate was the ideal way to end my third Olympics Games. Arrivederci!
HALF-TERM may be over but it doesn’t mean the fun has to be as there are lots of free activities taking place across this week.
Whether you want to head out for a walk to make the most of the sunshine or are wanting to pick up a new artwork for your home, this week has a great range of indoor and outdoor activities.
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With the sun starting to peek through the clouds, this week is the ideal time to get out and about and enjoy some free activitiesCredit: Getty
Europe’s largest artist and designer fair, London
This weekend you can head to Europe’s largest artist and designer fair at Chelsea Town Hall in London.
The Parallax Art Fair features over 10,000 works of art and design, that are all marked 40 per cent off of their usual price for the weekend.
The fair will also be playing music and there’s even a cinema.
The BRITs Art Trail, Manchester
Until March 16, you can explore a citywide art trail in Manchester with 21 artists.
The trail features wall murals, immersive window installations and billboards.
Visitors can explore the art and the city in the lead up to the BRIT Awards, with art in some of the city’s most loved spots.
Beryl Cook Sculpture Trail, Plymouth
In Plymouth, Devon, you can currently discover a series of life-sized Beryl Cook sculptures.
As if they have stepped straight out of the artist’s paintings, the sculptures celebrate humour and love for everyday life.
There are four sculptures to find before the end of July.
Wedding Showcase at Natural History Museum
Future brides and grooms can head to the Natural History Museum to catch the Wedding Showcase this weekend.
It starts at 7:30pm on Saturday and you will get to see what a wedding is like at the Natural History Museum.
There will be entertainment, dining experiences and even bridal styling.
You must book ahead of the event, but it is free to attend.
For example, you could head to a wedding show at the Natural History MusuemCredit: Getty
Viking Experience Day – Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle
On Friday, head to the Great North Museum in Newcastle to enjoy a day all about vikings.
Visitors will get to meet real-life Vikings as well as Viking experts.
For little ones, there will be storytelling sessions and riddles to solve as well as the opportunity to make your own rune stone to take away with you.
Fairy House Trail at Saltram House, Devon
At Saltram House in Devon, you can head on a fairy house trail until this Sunday.
Hidden around the garden of Saltram House you will find tiny fairy homes.
There are 10 in total to spot and as you discover them there are also some magical activities to participate in as well.
Or find hidden fairy houses at Saltram House in DebvonCredit: Alamy
After Dark Festival, London
On February 26, make sure to head to UEL’s After Dark festival to see a number of outdoor performances and installations that have all been inspired by the four elements.
The festival takes place at the Docklands Campus and includes light, fire and circus performances such as illuminated acrobatics and a glowing parade.
It will run from 5pm to 8pm.
Bristol Light Festival
Bristol Light Festival will finish at the end of this week, so make sure to explore the trail before it disappears.
There are different installations across the city to check out including a cluster of illuminated hot air balloons.
There’s also a wider event programme with walkabout performers such as stilt-walkers and jugglers.
And for adults there are comedy shows and a night market as well.
There’s also Bristol Light Festival this week, which has a whole events programmeCredit: Alamy
Big Days Out: Underwater Worlds – Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle
From Wednesday February 25 to Friday February 27, between 10am and 6pm visitors can head to the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Newcastle for Underwater Worlds.
Visitors can explore the ocean by building underwater worlds and even having a dance at the Cereal Disco – where you can grab breakfast and have a boogie at the same time.
There will be a marine biologist on hand too for you to learn about marine life from.
At the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Newcastle you can head to a Cereal DiscoCredit: Alamy
Mini-museum hunt for 50 years of Aardman at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
Love Wallace and Gromit? Then head to the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery to go on a treasure hunt around the museum.
Lots of tiny creations from the animation studio Aardman have been hidden around the museum, which guests can look for.
You can grab a map which helps you tick off each treasure.
Wallace and Gromit fans should head to Bristol Museum & Art Gallery to find hidden Aardman treasuresCredit: PA:Press Association
Cardiff Music City, Wales
To celebrate St David’s Day, head to Cardiff Music City festival, which features free performances at a number of venues.
For example, you could head to Cardiff Market on Saturday and Sunday between 5pm and 10pm for street food, independent traders and performances by Radio Sudd.
Heritage Weekend at Lauderdale House and Waterlow Park, London
Over at Lauderdale House and Waterlow Park this weekend, you can experience the annual Highgate Heritage Weekend.
On Saturday, the Local Heritage Fair Day will be on with 20 local organisations and special talks throughout the afternoon.
Then Sunday is the family day, with activities for all ages.
In a video posted to Instagram on Monday, the U.S. ski racing legend said she has been released from the hospital more than two weeks after suffering a complex tibia fracture and other damage that led to compartment syndrome in the leg.
Vonn credited Dr. Tom Hackett, an orthopedic surgeon who works for Vonn and Team USA, for salvaging the limb. She also gave some indirect credit to the complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee that occurred during another crash on Jan. 30, just a week before the start of the Winter Olympics.
“I always talk about everything happens for a reason,” Vonn said. “If I hadn’t torn my ACL … Tom wouldn’t have been there. He wouldn’t have been able to save my leg.”
Vonn has won 84 World Cup races and three Olympic medals, including gold in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games. She returned to competitive skiing last year after a six-year hiatus. Vonn did not allow the torn ACL to prevent her from competing in what she has called her “fifth and final Olympics.”
Despite completing multiple test runs, Vonn’s Feb. 8 downhill race lasted 13 seconds before she crashed. She was airlifted from the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
In addition to the previously reported complex tibia fracture, Vonn said Monday that she also fractured her fibular head and tibia plateau on her left leg during the crash.
“Just kind of everything was in pieces,” said Vonn, who added that she also broke her right ankle during the accident.
Vonn said that all the trauma in her left leg caused a condition called compartment syndrome, which involves excessive pressure building up inside a muscle, either from bleeding or swelling, and can restrict blood flow and possibly lead to permanent injury.
“When you have so much trauma to one area of your body that there’s too much blood and it gets stuck, and it basically crushes everything in the compartment so all the muscle and nerves and tendons, it all kind of dies,” Vonn said.
“And Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg. He saved my leg from being amputated. He did what’s called a fasciotomy, where he cut open, like both sides of my leg, and kind of filleted open, so to speak, let it breathe. And he saved me.”
At one point since the crash, Vonn said, she received a blood transfusion to raise her hemoglobin levels.
“I can’t tell you how painful it’s been,” she said.
Vonn still has a long road to recovery. She said she’s “very much immobile,” confined to a wheelchair for the time being and then on crutches for at least two months.
“It will take around a year for all of the bones to heal and then I will decide if I want to take out all the metal or not,” Vonn wrote in the Instagram post, “and then go back into surgery and finally fix my ACL.”
She added in the video: “We have to take the punches as they come, so I’ll do the best I can with this one. It really knocked me down, but I’m like Rocky. I’ll just keep getting back up.”
