Walker Scobell just wants people to stop sending death threats to every teenage girl who might know him — and anybody else.
The 17-year-old “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” star announced Sunday on social media that he will be skipping his prom and called out those who are threatening everyone who could potentially be in his orbit because of where they live.
“Just to let everyone know, I will not be attending prom,” Scobell, who plays the titular demigod in the Disney+ series, wrote in a message posted to his Instagram Story. “Please stop sending death threats to EVERY teenage girl who could remotely be associated with me based on their proximity to where I live. It’s not fair to them or their families.”
“Maybe also just stop sending death threats in general,” he added. “That’s just not cool. Kinda weird I have to say this.”
“Kinda weird” indeed.
Based on the book series by Rick Riordan, “Percy Jackson” is a coming-of-age twist on ancient Greek mythology that follows Sobell’s title character as he learns he is the half-human son of Poseidon and what that means for him. Scobell was 13 when he was cast in the show.
The actor previously said that it felt “a little bit weird” to go back to school after the first season of the series had been released but it helped that he’s been going to the same school since the fourth grade.
“Because I feel like I know everybody so well, and I’ve known them for such a long time that … it’s weirder to act like it’s weird,” Scobell told People earlier this year. “I feel like you just accept it right away, and everyone has, which has been super nice for me.”
This is not the first time the “Percy Jackson” franchise’s so-called fans have been out of line.
Aryan Simhadri, who portrays Percy’s best friend Grover Underwood in the series, spoke out last year about an unsettling encounter with a handsy fan when a group of “40 drunk college girls” recognized him.
“I was feeling pretty uncomfortable, so I put my hands in my back pockets,” Simhadri told Entertainment Weekly. “And then she reached around and put her hand inside of my back pocket, with my hand already in there. There’s not enough room in the back pocket of jeans for more than one hand. She lingered there a little longer than I would have liked. Not that I would have liked it at all.”
And Leah Jeffries, who plays Percy’s other best friend, Annabeth Chase, was the target of racist backlash when her casting was announced in 2022. Riordan, who also co-created the show, slammed the attacks in a blog post at the time, saying, “We should be able to agree that bullying and harassing a child online is inexcusably wrong.”
The NBA regular season ended Sunday and the first order of business for teams that fell short of making the playoffs was to evaluate their head coach. Hall of Famer Doc Rivers wasn’t spared the scrutiny.
He agreed to depart from the Milwaukee Bucks after winning 16 fewer games this season than last. Rivers has one year remaining on the $40-million contract he signed in January 2024 and will be paid for the final season.
The Bucks were 32-50 this season largely because superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo played in only 36 games because of injuries. Antetokounmpo, who expressed frustration talking to reporters Sunday, might be next out the door.
If so, the Lakers undoubtedly would be interested. They are projected to have about $60 million in salary-cap space and three first-round draft picks they can use — 2026, 2031 and 2033 — to try to make a deal this offseason.
Despite his insistence that he was healthy fairly soon after he suffered a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise March 15, Antetokounmpo didn’t play in the last 15 games of the season.
“To my understanding, I had to play three-on-three to be able to be available to play,” he said. “I did that multiple times. I’ve never in my life denied participation of practice. Whoever came up with that is disrespectful toward what I’ve done for this team and the way I carry myself.”
The decision was likely made to ensure the trade value of the two-time most valuable player wasn’t diminished by another injury. Antetokounmpo, 31, is under contract for 2026-2027 and has a player option of $62.7 million for 2027-28.
The Lakers — and other trade partners — would be more than willing to give him an extension. The contracts of LeBron James ($52.6 million), Rui Hachimura ($18 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) expire after this season, giving the Lakers the cash to toss in Antetokounmpo’s direction.
The Bucks floundered without him and the coach paid the price. Rivers, 64, hadn’t had a losing full season since 2006-2007, a span that included an NBA title with Boston in 2007-2008, seven seasons with the Clippers and three with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I have truly loved my time in Milwaukee,” said Rivers, who played college basketball at Marquette. “Coming back to where I got my start, to a city that has always embraced me, has been a privilege. I am disappointed that things did not turn out the way any of us hoped, but I am deeply grateful for this experience, the relationships built, and unwavering support from our fans and the community.”
Rivers began coaching after a 13-year NBA playing career and has a 1,194-866 record (.580) with five teams across 27 seasons. His regular-season wins are the sixth most in NBA history and he will be enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this year.
The Bucks discussed with him an advisory role in the organization, but Rivers is taking his time deciding what to do next. Asked how long he envisions coaching, Rivers mentioned his grandchildren.
“I won’t answer that, but I have grandkids that I want to see,” Rivers told reporters. “I’ll let you figure it out from there. I have seven grandkids now, and they’re all 8 years and under, and it kills me every time I miss grandparents day with each one of them in school. It’s probably time to go see them more, so I’ll let you figure out the rest.”
His seven consecutive winning seasons with the Clippers are part of the franchise’s current streak of 15 consecutive seasons with a winning record, the longest active run in the NBA and fourth-longest in league history.
Other NBA coaches on the hot seat include Jamahl Mosley of the Orlando Magic and Brian Keefe of the Washington Wizards. Portland Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter also might be replaced.
Splitter took over for Chauncey Billups, who has pleaded not guilty to charges he profited from rigged poker games involving several Mafia figures and at least one other ex-NBA player.
Coachella’s 25th anniversary was more than just a milestone in the festival’s history. It’s a year that showcased its vitality and vision for the future — and yes, it’s still a great place to take a selfie. While the amount of great music we absorbed as a staff left us a little delirious, it ensured we’d have plenty of moments to recall for a highlight reel of Weekend 1. From Radiohead’s immersive bunker experience, to Sabrina Carpenter’s triumphant return, Justin Bieber’s YouTube karaoke set and Karol G becoming the first Latina to headline the fest on Sunday night, here’s our list of the 21 most memorable moments we caught during Weekend 1.
FRIDAY
(Mark Potts / Los Angeles Times)
Radiohead’s bunker is Coachella’s version of Disney’s Tiki Room
Finally! Coachella has its own version of the Enchanted Tiki Room attraction from Disneyland — and it comes from the most unlikely of artists: British alt rockers Radiohead.
Here’s what I mean by that.
Say you’re in search of an air-conditioned place to rest your weary feet while a visual and musical spectacle plays out before you. Where do you go? If you’re a parent taking your kid to the happiest place on Earth, you go to the Enchanted Tiki Room. If you’re a desert festivalgoer in Indio, you go to the Bunker.
Tip: The ushers appeared to be letting festivalgoers into the experience throughout the runtime of the movie, so there’s a possibility you’ll be able to get in even if you didn’t land one of the scarce time slots. And seeing as how the experience was only about a quarter of the way full by the time it ended, you might be in luck. (David Viramontes)
Devo performs at the Mojave Tent during Coachella.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Devo’s new wave dance party at sunset
Look, it’s a very different Coachella than when we last saw Devo here in 2010. The Mojave Tent should have been more packed for these legends.
However, those of us who hightailed it here were treated to a set of the band’s best. Early on in the performance, the band played “Girl U Want” into “Whip It,” and during the latter, Mark Mothersbaugh tossed a handful of red “energy domes” — you know them as the Devo flowerpot hats — into the crowd.
Similar to Bini earlier, Devo had a costume change from the navy worksuits into their signature yellow Devo suits for a rousing performance of “Uncontrollable Urge.” There was even some choreography. (Vanessa Fanko)
A festivalgoer holds a Coachella sunset cocktail.
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
A Coachella sunset served as a cocktail
One of the best parts of Coachella is catching the sherbet-colored sunset at the end of the day, not just because cooler temps are ahead but because of the Lisa Frank explosion of colors that bleed into the horizon as it shifts to night. That event was made all the sweeter today when I paired the actual sunset with the Coachella sunset cocktail, which layers citrus and a speared kumquat with tequila, served in a branded cup that doubles as a souvenir. (Danielle Dorsey)
The xx performs on the Coachella Stage.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Indie minimalists the xx come back bigger, brasher than ever
The xx’s return was among the most buzzed-about sets of the festival this year, a credit to how well their catalog has stood up on its merits. At their debut, they almost singlehandedly inaugurated a shift toward hyper-intimate headphone pop — it’s hard to imagine Billie Eilish sounding quite the same without them.
Yet on Friday, they bolstered that purity with the confidence, swagger and precision of the veteran rock act they’ve become.
Dressed in their typical all-black palette, their faces carrying a little more gravity and composure with age, the set slipped between the ships-in-the-night duets of “Shelter” and “VCR” to the after-hours whomp of Romy’s “Enjoy Your Life.” “On Hold” best married the band’s two worlds, sample-soaked yet rock driven; “Angels” remained a peerless devotional ballad. (August Brown)
Katseye performs on the Sahara Stage.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Katseye performs ‘Golden’ with ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ at Coachella
Katseye proved no this ain’t their debut at their first Coachella performance, bringing out Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami for a kinetic performance of “Golden” from “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” Despite the absence of Manon, the girl group packed the festival field with Eyekons packed shoulder to shoulder as far as the Do Lab. (D.V.)
Turnstile performs at the Outdoor Theatre.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Turnstile’s hardcore roots and tender hearts on display at Coachella
Turnstile’s set on the Outdoor Theatre on Friday night had some unexpectedly poignant moments from the Baltimore band with hardcore roots.
Before the band took the stage, there was footage of interviews with fans and also a previously recorded message from Bill Yates, the father of Turnstile singer Brendan Yates.
“We love you, Turnstile loves you and enjoy the ride,” he said.
The band played a 55-minute set split between its last two albums, 2025’s “Never Enough” and 2021’s “Glow On,” in a condensed version of the tour they brought through Southern California last fall. Highlights included “Seein’ Stars” off the latest record, where Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes joined the band on the cello before his own late night set in the Mojave Tent, “Mystery” and “Holiday” off “Glow On” and set-closer “Birds,” which won a Grammy earlier this year. (V.F.)
Sabrina Carpenter brings her hits (and Susan Sarandon?) to Coachella
“How you feeling, Sabrinawood?” Sabrina Carpenter asked as she gazed out at the tens of thousands of fans she’d gathered into a makeshift city Friday night. “I can’t believe I’m headlining Coachella.
“I mean, I can a little bit.”
Indeed, when Carpenter made her Coachella debut in 2024, the Disney kid turned pop icon vowed that the next time she played the desert festival, her name would be atop the bill.
She returned as promised this weekend as one of music’s biggest acts, with two No. 1 singles and a pair of Grammy-nominated albums under her belt and a story to tell about her rise to stardom. (Mikael Wood)
SATURDAY
Jack White draws a crowd at the Mojave Tent.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Jack White kicks off Coachella’s rock-tastic Day 2
I thought Jack White’s opening riffs were a beacon. Then he ended his surprise Mojave Tent set with the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.”
It will not surprise you that the tent, which attracted an overflow crowd once he played the iconic riff, had people singing along and jumping and pumping their arms in the air to the track that has become a sporting event staple (including for my beloved Baltimore Ravens).
What did surprise me was that the crowd was also ridiculously loud for a sing-along to the Raconteurs’ “Steady As She Goes” a few songs before.
White ended the set by telling the crowd that he was planning to catch Geese and the Strokes that day and that music is sacred.
Rock is indeed alive and well at Coachella, especially as the fans kept singing “Seven Nation Army” after White and his band had left the stage and the set was over. (V.F.)
A visit to Coachella’s coolest rock club, literally, to catch Ecca Vandal
I know my phone says it isn’t as hot as it was Friday but maybe it was rocking out with Jack White that made us all a little more sweaty.
I booked it over to the Sonora Tent to catch a little bit of Ecca Vandal to confirm that the Sonora Tent still has the vibes of a cool rock club in the middle of the festival. I mean cool both figuratively and literally since the AC is always blasting.
The blue-haired singer leaped onto the stage — wearing a short poofy dress and tall boots — accompanied by a drummer and a multi-instrumentalist with a lot of flashing lights.
The beginning of her set was leaning on more of her pop crossover songs than the punk vibes that initially drew me to her, but I did catch her do the rocking “Bleed But Never Die” before I needed to move on to catch another set. (V.F.)
The Goodyear blimp flies over the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Saturday.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
We sent our reporter to see what Coachella looks like from the Goodyear Blimp
The ride on the Goodyear Blimp over the Coachella grounds was gentler than I’d anticipated — kind of like a boat ride in a harbor. We took off from a giant dirt field at the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal, Calif., and tooled around for 30 minutes or so; when we got over Coachella, we could see a few hundred Beliebers camped out as close to the main stage as they could get — nine or 10 hours before Bieber’s performance was scheduled to begin.
They looked so little down there — so small in size, so big in Beliebf. (M.W.)
Giveon performs at Coachella on April 16, 2022.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Giveon bottles the magic hour
Long Beach’s R&B savant Giveon kept his Coachella stage to a monochrome motif during his sundown set. Black suit, white lights — he didn’t need anything more to bottle the magic hour on Saturday.
An old soul with with a huge, commanding voice, his catalog hovers between the orchestral swoon of pre-rock ballads, the pristine melodies of Anita Baker and the rangy, resilient yearning of his hometown’s soul tradition. Kendrick Lamar and SZA may have formally kicked off the Luther Vandross revival, but Giveon has inherited it, especially on his latest 2025 LP “Beloved.”
Backed by a big, throwback live band, “Lost Me” beautifully papered over a failed relationship with an uncertain young bravado; “Backup Plan” gave his one-of-kind baritone room to roam and plead. He brought out Kehlani for “Folded,” another perfectly regal ballad that revels in a small aperture. But by the time he got to “Heartbreak Anniversary,” his suit was coming off and the mood was positively lusty.
Giveon should be counted among the great SoCal voices, and his Saturday show proved his ambitions for it have no ceiling. (A.B.)
Sombr performs at Coachella on Saturday.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Sombr’s star burns brighter when he brought out Billy Corgan
Sombr’s performance happened on a day when Coachella had a notable number of rockers — Jack White kicked things off in the Mojave Tent in a set announced earlier this week and there was much excitement for the Strokes on the Coachella stage Saturday night before headliner Justin Bieber.
But one of the moments that simultaneously proved that rock never died and that it’s on the rise was when Sombr brought out a special guest, who Boose said was making his first visit to the festival. Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins came out to join in on a cover of his band’s mid-’90s alt-rock hit “1979,” which was more recently trending audio on TikTok and Instagram. (V.F.)
David Byrne performs at the Outdoor Theatre at Coachella.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
David Byrne and the art of performance as an experience
More than an hour before Justin Bieber decided to have a YouTube karaoke party to headline Coachella, David Byrne closed out the Outdoor Theatre on Saturday night in stark relief.
Byrne’s set started 25 minutes late and he arrived on stage wearing an orange jumpsuit and holding an acoustic guitar. He was soon followed by a dozen or so instrumentalists and backing singers in matching garb for “Everybody Laughs,” a track off his 2025 album “Who Is the Sky?” (V.F.)
Nine Inch Noize performs at the Sahara Stage.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Nine Inch Noize revamps industrial rock for a ghoulish rave
Performing in a cutout in the middle of a huge elevated ramp, Reznor, his Nails bandmate Atticus Ross and Boys Noize hovered atop a dense rack of synths and samplers. They built on the ethos of their arena show, stripping the NIN catalog — including “Closer,” “Heresy,” “The Warning” and “Copy of A” — for parts, and then rebuilding the songs for this strobe-licked club setting.
One surprise for Coachella fans driving out was a billboard announcing Nine Inch Noize had a whole album of collaborative material en route, and the segments they played revealed how crucial Boys Noize is to this new setup. His bone-snapping breakdowns and vicious, detuned clangs wouldn’t be possible without Reznor’s ‘90s industrial vision, but here he returned the favor to ensure this combo translated on a dedicated rave stage. (A.B.)
The Strokes perform at the Coachella Stage.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
It’s kind of a joke that the Strokes are still this good
Ninety minutes or so later, JB was indeed due to take over the space. But while Casablancas and his bandmates had control of it, it was theirs: This was an almost laughably strong showing by a band of rascally garage-rock veterans who somehow might sound better now — tighter, punchier, more effortlessly tuneful — than they did a quarter-century ago.
With an upcoming album to hype, the Strokes did their new single “Going Shopping,” a characteristically droll critique of late-capitalist apathy. (“Solidarity can be difficult when you got cool stuff to lose,” Casablancas sings.) But for the most part they stuck to the indelible hits, each as ingeniously structured — and as bitterly romantic — as the last: “Hard to Explain,” “Someday,” “Last Nite,” “New York City Cops.”
“You guys excited about the draft?” Casablancas asked at one point. “I hope to lead one of the Coachella units — the sexiest unit in our proud military.” (M.W.)
Justin Bieber performs at the Coachella Stage.
(Kevin Mazur / Getty Images)
Justin Bieber (and his laptop) headlining Coachella Night 2
This is how we found out Justin Bieber is a YouTube Premium subscriber.
The 32-year-old teen-pop survivor headlined Coachella on Saturday night, and for roughly half an hour in the middle of his set, what Bieber did was sit behind a laptop and sing along to his old music videos — often an octave down from where he recorded them — as he searched up the songs on YouTube and played them over the festival’s state-of-the-art sound system.
YouTube Premium, that is, given that he (and we) faced no ads during the performance. (M.W.)
SUNDAY
Clockwise from top left, Los Angeles Times staffers David Viramontes, Kayla Bartkowski, Rebecca Castillo, Danielle Dorsey, Mark Potts, Kailyn Brown and Christina House gather inside the Party in My Living Room activation at Coachella.
(Courtesy of Kailyn Brown)
Times staffer takes the stage at Coachella
For most artists, landing a gig at the most prestigious music festival happens at the zenith of their career. For reporter Kailyn Brown, playing Coachella is a side gig. But after seeing her set at the festival, at least one reporter anticipates that, sooner or later, being a Times journalist might become the real side gig.
On Sunday afternoon, Brown, a.k.a. KailynHype, played a DJ set at Party in my Living Room. The activation is a collab with GV Black, “a commitment and opportunity for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to be seen at the festival,” according to the Coachella website. “We actively promote diversity to change the narrative of what it means to be at Coachella.” (D.V.)
Wet Leg performs on the Coachella Stage.
(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)
Rock still isn’t dead at Coachella: Wet Leg edition
Even without rock headliners at Coachella, the genre is alive and thriving with a new generation. This afternoon’s evidence? A blistering set from British rockers Wet Leg.
Opening with “Catch These Fists,” the set seemed to wake up Coachella’s typically sleepy Sunday with a jolt of rock. Other early highlights included “Wet Dream” and “Liquidize.” (V.F.)
Less Than Jake performs at Coachella’s Heineken House on Sunday.
(Vanessa Franko / Los Angeles Times)
Less Than Jake transports us from Coachella to the Warped Tour
Less Than Jake at the Heineken House was definitely one of the most unexpected moments in my years of covering the festival — especially considering that Sean Paul had the venue, an open-air beer hangout that includes a modest stage without a metal barricade near the Indio Central Market, so overflowing Saturday night that the Coachella app sent an alert to people that it was at capacity.
But for us Xennials and millennials in the crowd who remember the OG Warped Tour, the ska punk band’s set was a fun break from the more traditional Coachella fare.
Singer and guitarist Chris DeMakes made some jokes about how out of place the band was compared to the likes of Saturday night headliner Justin Bieber, but even on a small stage, Less Than Jake brought out its production tricks of toilet paper guns, inflatable dancing wind socks and a gaggle of balloons. (V.F.)
Iggy Pop performs at the Mojave Tent.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
At 78, Iggy Pop still has a lust for life
I was worried that Iggy Pop would have suffered the fate of Devo and David Byrne on Friday and Saturday, respectively, of not having nearly enough fans watching these legends. I shouldn’t have.
On Sunday evening, a respectable crowd showed up in the Mojave Tent to pay their respects to the Godfather of Punk, who first played Coachella in a reunion with the Stooges in 2003.
Not only did Pop have a full band that included the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner on guitar, but and also a full horn section.
The set kicked off with “T.V. Eye” before “Raw Power” (a song I never knew could be so enhanced by the aforementioned horn section), but the early highlights also included “Gimme Danger,” “The Passenger” and “Lust for Life” in a 1-2-3 punch of perfect Pop. (V.F.)
Karol G performs on the Coachella Stage.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Karol G’s historic headlining set was lusty, powerful and overdue
On Sunday night, Karol G became the first Latina to headline Coachella. Along with all her pride in that achievement, she seemed a little angry at that fact too.
“It feels late,” the Colombian superstar said onstage, in a brief English-language address to the audience in a set otherwise fully in Spanish. “ It’s been 27 years of this festival going on. … Before me, there were so many great Latino artists that gave me the opportunity.”
“Latinos have been struggling in this country lately,” she continued. “We stand for them. I’m proud this brings out the best of us — unity, resilience, a strong spirit. We want everyone to feel welcome to our culture, our roots, our music, I want everyone to feel proud of where you come from.”
Karol let those lines here serve as her brief indictment of the present, jackbooted environment around immigration and repression in the United States. Making belated history by headlining Coachella would seem far removed from those concerns.
Yet as this sweeping, heady, spectacularly ambitious and relentlessly lusty set showed over its hour and half, the body is the first site of liberation. If you can’t move like you want, where you want, you’re not free. Karol G finally commanding this stage was living proof it’s possible to kick that door in. (A.B.)
A constellation of stars are lining up against Paramount’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, expressing fears the blockbuster merger would devastate the industry and shrink production jobs.
The letter was signed by nearly 1,000 artists and movie creators, including such big names as Ben Stiller, Bryan Cranston, Noah Wyle, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Stewart and Jane Fonda, whose group the Committee for the First Amendment, helped organize the campaign.
“This transaction would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a moment when our industries—and the audiences we serve—can least afford it,” according to the letter. “The result will be fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”
The Hollywood workforce has shrunk by more than 42,000 jobs between 2022 and 2024, according to a recent study. The economy has not bounced back following shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the twin labor strikes three years ago.
The strikes prompted studio executives to reset their output after previously spending big to build streaming services to compete with Netflix.
Two other consolidations led to widespread cutbacks: Walt Disney Co.’s acquisition of Fox entertainment assets in 2019, and Discovery’s takeover of AT&T’s WarnerMedia four years ago.
The resulting entity — Warner Bros. Discovery, led by David Zaslav — instituted deep cost cuts and thousands of layoffs to cut expenses because the firm was nearly drowning in deal debt — $43 billion — from the day Zaslav took the helm.
Paramount’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. would result in a significantly higher debt load, $79 billion in debt, prompting concerns from the group and others about further cuts.
Tech scion David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is leading the effort to buy Warner Bros. Discovery to prop up Paramount, which the family acquired in August. Ellison’s Paramount Skydance prevailed in a nearly six month bidding war in late February after Netflix bowed out when the elder Ellison agreed to financially back his son’s $111-billion deal.
Ellison is pushing to wrap the deal up this summer.
“We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good,” the letter said. “The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised. Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement.”
The group urged California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and his fellow state attorneys general to sue to block the transaction.
Bonta has told The Times that his office is reviewing the transaction to see if it violates anti-trust rules. Two historic movie studios, several streaming services and dozens of cable channels would be brought under one roof.
“Media consolidation has already weakened one of America’s most vital global industries,” the group said, “one that has long shaped culture and connected people around the world.”
Bonta’s office is leading the charge against another merger, TV station giant Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2-billion takeover Virginia-based Tegna. Eight state attorneys general, including Bonta, have sued to block that deal. A judge is expected to rule on whether to issue a preliminary injunction later this week.
Former Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías, whose second suspension expired last July, has not signed with any team since then.
Scott Boras, the agent for Urías, declined to say whether any team had offered Urías a contract this year but said he has not solicited offers from any clubs.
“I have to have the authority from my client even to talk about the subject,” Boras said, “and I don’t have that yet.”
In January, the Mexican baseball site Puro Beisbol posted pictures of Urías throwing with children in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, with the Spanish-language site Diario AS calling it “the first time he had been seen throwing a baseball in public since September 2023,” the month he last pitched for the Dodgers.
Urías sat out the 2024 season during a Major League Baseball investigation. His suspension covered the first half of the 2025 season. When he was reinstated, Boras said Urías had “every intention to continue his career.”
When the suspension of former Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer ended before the 2023 season, Bauer signed to play in Japan that year and in Mexico the following year before returning to Japan in 2025. He has signed to play with the independent Long Island Ducks this year.
If Urías, 29, wishes to play this year, Boras said he believes Urías would have little trouble finding a job.
“Teams ask me about him all the time,” Boras said. “With the pitching market in this world, Julio could play in a minute. But I think it’s about him deciding if it’s something he wants to go do right now.”
The suspension resulted from a September 2023 incident outside BMO Stadium, in which witness video obtained by The Times showed Urías pulled aside his wife’s hair and shoved her against a fence. After the two were separated, the video showed Urías swinging at her with his left hand.
Urías was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence, but the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office determined that “neither the victim’s injuries nor the defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.” The city attorney’s office subsequently filed five misdemeanor charges against Urías. He pleaded no contest to one, the other four were dropped, and he agreed to enter a yearlong domestic violence treatment program.
He also agreed to complete a similar program in 2019, when he was arrested after an incident in the Beverly Center parking lot. Witnesses said he pushed his fiancee, she said she fell, and no charges were filed.
The league then suspended him for 20 games. Under its policy, the the league can suspend a player even if no charges are filed.
Urías recorded the final out of the Dodgers’ World Series championship in 2020. He led the National League in victories (20) in 2021 and earned-run average (2.16) in 2022.
THE world’s first ride based on the Disney film Up is set to open at Disneyland Paris.
The ride will be based on the much-loved 2009 family film that follows pensioner Carl and boy scout Russell on an adventure.
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Disneyland Paris has revealed a new Up-themed rideCredit: Disney ParisIt will be called Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings and be a carousel swing rideCredit: Disney Paris
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The ride, named Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings, will open at the theme park next year.
To get to the ride, visitors will queue through four themed zones that represent key moments from the film including Carl’s childhood aviator helmet and goggles and Ellie’s adventure book.
The carousel ride will boast 48 swings, including special ‘duo’ seats – so a total of 64 people can go on the ride at any one time.
When the ride spins, the dome above where riders will be seated will tilt, creating the feeling of flying.
To keep on theme with the film, the ride will feature balloon and cloud motifs.
The ride will also be in a garden inspired by Up, in the newly named Disney Adventure World part of the theme park.
DisneylandParis.com states: “Located in Adventure Way, just opposite Raiponce (Rapunzel) Tangled Spin, construction of the future Wilderness Explorers Sky Swings attraction is well underway.
“The name references the Wilderness Explorers, the club of young adventurers that Russell belongs to.”
When guests reach the ride, they’ll get to try out being a trainee adventurer themselves and get the chance to earn an ‘Aviation’ badge as they fly to the soundtrack of the movie.
DisneylandParis.com added: “This family-friendly experience will offer a new take on the ’flying chair carousel’, an iconic attraction in traditional theme parks for over a century.”
Disneyland Paris has also made another announcement that there will be a new experience at Disney Adventure World called The Disney Princess Cavalcade from July 24.
Visitors will be able to see four princesses from four worlds heading off on a journey through the park.
The princesses include Moana with a float themed around the village of Motunui and a float themed around Raya’s Heart Palace.
The parade will start at the entrance of the future The Lion King-themed area and head to The Regal View Restaurant & Lounge before returning back to where it started.
Disney Adventure World (formerly Walt Disney Studios Park) opened at the end of March and is home to the new World of Frozen.
It is due to open at the park next yearCredit: Disney Paris
Travel reporter Cyann Fielding visited the new land, and here is what she thought.
“Upon entering the Kingdom of Arendelle, I’m greeted by towering Nordic-style houses and a magical Frozen soundtrack.
“Am I actually in Arendelle? Because it sure feels like it.
“The land features a life-sized 36-metre North Mountain with Elsa’s Ice Palace, a Frozen Ever After boat ride, and A Celebration in Arendelle show on the water.
“There is also a Nordic-themed restaurant, as well as themed shopping experiences and character meet and greets.
“The main attraction of the new land is the musical Frozen Ever After boat ride.
Disneyland Paris is also launching a new princess paradeCredit: DisneyThe parade will take place in the new Disney Adventure World part of the park from July 24Credit: Disney
“Starting at the Royal Docks, you head through the village and forest, meeting Sven and Olaf on the way; then you glide past Troll Valley and up The North Mountain (and then down the other side!).
“Of course, World of Frozen wouldn’t be complete without its own show.
“The land is set during the Snowflower Festival and as a result, the daily show features your favourite characters as they sing and dance and celebrate the festival together.”
In 2019, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater needed a lifeline. Forced out of its edge-of-downtown home of more than 55 years, the beloved troupe with its thousands of handcrafted puppets — a saucy black cat in heels, a fish out of water that can’t help but wiggle — ultimately found a new location in a Highland Park theater.
Signing a 10-year lease was a sigh of relief for the company, the result of a lengthy search that included more than 80 spaces and ensured its playful, fanciful shows would continue to be a multigenerational, SoCal tradition. But yearly rises in rent, as well as the looming end of the contract, remained a cause of stress for the nonprofit.
The Bob Baker Marionette Theater can exhale once again.
The saucy black cat puppet in a performance at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.
(Chloe Rice / Bob Baker Marionette Theater)
The theater’s executive team said it has entered into an agreement to purchase its current location at the corner of York Boulevard and North Avenue 50, which had former incarnations as a movie theater and a Korean church. Once completed, the $5 million acquisition will ensure the theater has a permanent home, a place where skateboarding clowns and leek-haired onions can continue to frolic and dance for decades to come.
“This is monumental for us,” says Alex Evans, the theater’s co-executive director. “It’s been decades of us struggling to survive. Now we’re at this moment where it’s not a struggle. It’s a blossoming moment where our future is set up forever.”
Bob Baker’s Highland Park home was originally built as the York Theater in 1925, hosting movies and vaudeville performances during that era. It most recently housed the Pyong Kang First Congregational Church. Over the years it has also been a barbershop and the site of an organ sales and repair store.
The purchase comes at a celebratory time for the troupe. While its annual Bob Baker Day Festival at the Los Angeles State Historic Park had to be postponed from April 12 to the fall due to a forecast of rain — the historic and fragile puppets cannot be exposed to water — the company still took its show on the road to the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Its adults-only May fundraising event the Puppet Prom, which typically raises more than $30,000, is nearly sold out, and the theater, which also hosts film screenings and concerts (with puppets, of course), continues to pack in full audiences — partly due to its location in a walkable neighborhood with young families.
And in the coming weeks the theater will launch its first new show in 40 years, “Choo Choo Revue.”
“Now is the time,” says Evans, who notes that while they have built new puppets and tweaked existing shows, this is the first proper new production since 1981’s “Hooray LA!” “We have the staff to implement it. We have a sustainable business to be able to pull off what is going to be close to a half-million-dollar production to mount a new show.”
In going public with its intent to secure the York Boulevard theater, the company is initiating a new round of fundraising. Bob Baker over the last year has raised $4.5 million of the $5 million purchase price. It is seeking $500,000 to close the gap as well as an additional $2 million for what it describes as critical renovations, such as repairing the building’s roof and restrooms.
Some of the eccentric canines puppets.
(Chloe Rice / Bob Baker Marionette Theater)
Mary Fagot, Bob Baker’s co-executive director, says the theater has in place a $500,000 loan to ensure the deal closes. Yet Bob Baker does not want to to begin its new era with debt.
“We think it’s an achievable gap,” Fagot says, pointing to community fundraising the theater had to enact to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the days of the shutdown, for instance, the company was able to raise $365,000 in 365 days.
Rising rent, say the co-executive directors, was a key driving factor in the decision to approach the building’s ownership to purchase the space. This year, Bob Baker will pay close to half a million in rent, an amount, says Evans, that is double the theater’s budget when it was in its prior space near downtown L.A. That, coupled with the lease’s impending expiration in a couple of years, acted as a sort of deadline to craft a proposal that could appeal to its building owners.
“We started to have discussions in 2023 with the owners of the building, and those evolved into this becoming a real possibility,” Fagot says. “Then we started the hard work of talking to our biggest supporters about getting behind us.”
Bob Baker, founded in 1963 by its namesake puppeteer, now attracts more than 145,000 audience members per year, including about 20,000 students via school field trips. Funding for the building purchase was secured, in part, by gifts from the Perenchio Foundation, the Kohl Family Foundation, the Ahmanson Foundation, the late Wallis Annenberg, and celebrity donors such as Jack Black and Tanya Haden.
A sidewalk performance outside the Bob Baker Marionette Theater featuring ladybug puppets.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m proud to have played a small part in helping safeguard such a beloved institution that has enriched Los Angeles for decades,” says Brian Mikail of Capstone Equities, which rents the space to the troupe. The hope when signing the lease, says Mikail, was that Bob Baker could someday be set up to purchase the venue.
The agreement, says, Fagot, is a win-win for both sides.
“I think we were the ideal owners for this space,” Fagot says. “If it’s for any other purpose, it would need a giant transformation, and for us, it’s exactly what we need.”
“Choo Choo Revue” is set to open May 16 and will feature more than 100 brand new, handcrafted puppets. Look, for instance, for a conductor with a clock as a face, dancing luggage and a cicada jug band, among a host of other oddities. Expect, perhaps, a crescent moon in pajamas to be a new favorite. Or maybe audiences will instead fall for the singing mushrooms.
“The show invites audiences to go on a train ride, where the show is looking out of a train window and seeing flights of imagination,” Evans says. “It’s daydreams outside of a window. Windmills run around. It’s weird, fantastical abstractions of what’s possible. The hope is by the end of the show people are inspired to be more creative and to look at the world more beautifully.”
There’s also a clear hunger for the type of whimsical, family-friendly entertainment that the theater provides. Gross revenues topped $3.1 million in 2025, up from $699,211 in 2018, according to its most recent annual report. Fagot says the COVID pandemic only increased the demand for the “special brand of magic” that Bob Baker creates.
“People needed community,” she says. “They just need joy. They need inspiration and creativity and want to do it together, and that is what we do.”
It was not just a nation of sports fans and media that became entranced when former Chargers great Philip Rivers, like a soldier, answered the call to duty and joined another one of his former teams, the Indianapolis Colts, at age 44, five years after his last game. (Five years after! No misprint). Former players, like me, were curious and envious.
This was a selfless, noble act by Phil. A player is not eligible for the Hall of Fame until five years after his last season. Thus, Phil has delayed his consideration as a candidate by another five years.
The winter is not merely a matter of age; it is long after the time when the pro football player lived a life at full throttle, doing what years of unromantic labor crafted his mind and body to do.
Jim Porter, the president and chief executive officer of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, reported that about 35 million males, from youth leagues to high schools to colleges, have played organized football. Of that total, only about 22,000 have played in a professional game. Shameful pride compels me to say there are only about 300 players in the Hall of Fame.
Colts quarterback Philip Rivers throws the ball during a game against the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 22 in Indianapolis.
(Zach Bolinger / Associated Press)
Now, at 88 years old, I am in that winter of life; a time long after leaving that locker room, a place that was alive with bravado and bonds with teammates, each knowing the devastating work it took to, not only get there, but to stay there, because each year the team would bring in a fresh group of draftees and players acquired by trade who wanted your spot. As teammates, we had an unspoken contract to do the drills to the extent that the movements become instinct, to do the work, to play injured, to show up.
The memories of teammates stay fresh. I will share a few stories that stick with me about players early Charger fans will recall:
Power of Alworth
San Diego Chargers wide receiver Lance Alworth poses for a photo in 1970.
(Associated Press)
Lance Alworth is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Our team in the ‘60s had many players that deserve to be called great; however, we all held Lance in special regard because he encompassed high levels of skill and character. He had speed, elusiveness, and he blocked (something of a dirty word to many wide receivers). The best way to describe how I felt about Lance is to relate an incident that took place when our plane was returning from an East Coast game. The plane hit a long stretch of weather so bad that it caused the plane to rise and drop and shake to such an extent that I knew it was going to crash and kill us all. I truly felt it was all over. Then I remembered that Lance was on board and I relaxed, thinking we are safe because God would not kill Lance. I am still amused that I actually thought that.
A formidable man
Ernie Ladd, seen here in action for the San Diego Chargers, on Oct. 29, 1963.
(Associated Press)
Ernie Ladd was a 6-foot-9, 325-pound defensive tackle who played the position with skill and fury and, for four seasons, before severe knee injuries reduced him from great to good, was as skilled as anyone who ever played the position. And strong. Ernie joined the Chargers in 1961. In 1963, coach Sid Gilman made the Chargers the first team in professional football to employ a strength coach and direct that all players begin a weight-training program. At that time, I was one of only a few players in professional football that lifted year-round because coaches, at all levels of football, discouraged weightlifting, believing it tied up an athlete’s muscles. Ernie had never lifted weights. During our first training session with our strength coach, Alvin Roy, Ernie lifted 300 pounds over his head. I had trained for years and my best lift at that time was a military press of 325 pounds.
He demonstrated strength and restraint when a dispute arose between him and a teammate, who I will refer to as X, a defensive lineman whose play fell far below expectations when he was a high draft choice. Ernie was given to fun-loving razzing of others in the locker room. X took offense and swung his fist at Ernie. Ernie caught the fist in his big right hand, then grabbed X’s forearm and bent the wrist up, forcing X to the ground. Ernie then said, “X, if I let you up, are we done?” X, red with embarrassment, said it was over and Ernie released him.
The reason this stuck with me was because it reminded of an incident in the John Steinbeck novel, “Of Mice and Men,” in which Lennie, a slow-witted worker on a ranch, was being repeatedly struck by the ranch foreman until Lennie caught the foreman’s fist in the air and crushed his hand. The reference is a bit strained because Ernie was extremely bright.
Ernie was the most joyful game participant I had ever seen, bright and quick-witted, laughing before a game, getting energy from the thrill of what was about to take place. Before one of our games, he said to me in a mockingly serious voice, “Ronnie Jack, I hope I don’t kill anyone out there today. If I do, I want you to represent me and plead self-defense.” At the time, I was going to law school at night.
Surprising Wright
Ernie Wright left college early and joined the team at age of 20, the same year I signed up for the Chargers — 1960. He played offensive left tackle, making All-Pro several times. He was extremely bright, great work ethic, and proved it by having a very successful post-football business career.
Different players have different game-day, pre-event routines. I tried to stay calm and collected no matter how big the moment. I believed that if I allowed myself to get charged up by adrenaline rushes before the game started, I would use up energy I needed for the entire game.
My pregame ritual became a curious thing for Ernie. After one of our games, Ernie approached me, and the following conversation took place:
Ernie: I have been watching you before games and seeing your lips moving and I thought you were praying. I finally decided today to get closer so that I could hear what you were praying for. Was it for a team to win, was it to kick butt. You were singing to yourself! You were singing “Fly Me to the Moon.” Is that what you have been doing before all these games?
Me: That’s it. It is my way of staying calm.
Ernie (laughing): And here I thought you were deeply religious, and I have been careful not to swear around you.
A mind for politics
Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp accepts a jersey from football players at Fairfax High in 1996.
(John Hayes / Associated Press)
Jack Kemp was the Chargers’ first quarterback. After an injury in his third year, he played for the Buffalo Bills. After football, he became a congressman in the Buffalo area and, later, presidential candidate Bob Dole’s choice to join his Republican ticket as his vice presidential running mate. Jack and I were training camp roommates during our first year with the Chargers. We became close friends. Jack was constantly thinking about politics and the relationship between government and the public and how power and policy shape everyday life and collective freedom.
Jack’s early political beliefs embraced the John Birch Society, a movement that felt expansive federal power is a threat to individual liberty. Among the Birch beliefs that Jack embraced was that there should not be Social Security, that if it was absent, people would then accept the responsibility of regularly putting away funds for their retirement.
During the week before a game in San Diego, I told Jack that Social Security is earned insurance, not welfare, that it spreads the risks across society, and keeps seniors out of poverty. I gave as an example my mother, who was a first-generation American with only a fifth-grade education who, prior to my retiring her when I signed with the Chargers, held minimum wage jobs that barely covered monthly expenses of her raising my brother and me by herself. I told Jack that her, and likely millions like her, given the choice of setting aside a dollar a month for retirement or spending it to care for her family, would place family first.
The depth of Jack’s constant thinking of politics became clear to me the Sunday of that week. I have forgotten the name of our opponent, but I do remember that it was a brutally contested game on a very hot day and we were ahead by only three points. At halftime, our team was walking toward the locker room when I heard Jack call out to me: “Ron, Ron, wait up.” I thought he was going to ask my opinion on what run plays would be best to call. Nope. Jack said: “I’ve been thinking about what you said about Social Security and people like your mother. I agree with you. Social Security must stay.” Then he was back to football: “OK, then, let’s get ‘em.”
I was surprised. It was a, “Wait … did that just happen?” moment. We were in the middle of a football game!
Being a part of something special
Athletes, as a group, have always been ahead of the country in improving racial and religious relations among the population. I am reminded of my senior year at the University of Southern California in 1959 when Willie Wood and I were elected co-captains of the football team. That was done at a time when 99% of the fraternities at the school barred us from membership because Willie was Black and I was Jewish. That sentiment in America meant nothing to our predominately white Christian teammates who, true to the nature of sports, judged teammates only on their character, work ethic and production.
Missing the demands of the game
And then there were the opponents. How deeply they are missed, those men across the line who made excellence necessary. While it is true that some opponents were less skilled than others, the collisions with all of them were just as real.
Playing against greatness was a measurement of who you were. I had the, yes, the pleasure of playing directly against fellow Hall members such as Deacon Jones, Buck Buchanon, Bobby Bell and Claude Humphrey, and a slew of other notable defensive linemen. They, and others, were equally committed to stopping me from doing my job.
It has now been 54 years since I left the game and I still miss it.
Mix was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
As Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz prepared to play catch on the field before the series finale Sunday against the Texas Rangers, he hoped to be available in a save situation.
“I’m really happy with how I’m feeling today,” he said, emphasizing that he wasn’t dealing with any physical ailments.
He’d been unavailable the night before during the Dodgers’ 6-3 win. So, manager Dave Roberts went to right-hander Blake Treinen to begin the ninth, and then, after a walk and an error by third baseman Max Muncy, had left-hander Alex Vesia come in to get the last out.
Díaz’s velocity has been down this season and Friday, his fastball velocity sat at 95.5 mph and slider at 87.8, according to Statcast, 1.7 mph and 1.3 mph down from last season, respectively.
“Two miles an hour, that’s pretty significant,” Roberts said Sunday. “So I think that’s why we sort of flagged it. We wanted to have him down [Saturday] and kind of see what we get. Because a couple days ago there were a lot of throws in there too. So just trying to also, like we’ve done many times, play the long game with our guys.”
Roberts described his level of concern as “low.” Díaz also emphasized to the coaching staff that he felt good. Roberts didn’t think the velocity dip stemmed from mechanical issues.
“Today I’m still kind of yellow-lighting him,” Roberts said before the game.
Diaz described lower velocity early in the season as a theme since he tore the patellar tendon in his right knee in 2023.
“But as soon as the season starts going, I start feeling better and better and better,” Díaz said. “And my velo at the end of the year will be what I’m throwing always.”
The last two seasons, Díaz’s fastball velocity averaged 96.6 mph in March and April, compared to 97.7 in August and September, according to Statcast. His only injured-list stint in that time, for a right shoulder impingement, sidelined him for the first couple of weeks of June 2024.
Before Díaz’s three-run inning Friday against the Rangers, he had given up only one run and two hits in five appearances.
Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz sits in the dugout after blowing a save, giving up three runs against the Rangers on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“I didn’t have my life on my fastball and I couldn’t command my slider the way I wanted to,” Díaz said of his blown save. “I was feeling good. But I didn’t have my best stuff that day. That’s part of the game. I just flush it right away.”
His addition has helped elevate the bullpen — which owned a 3.38 earned-run average entering Sunday, an improvement from last year (4.27) — through not only his own performance but also by pushing his fellow relievers up an inning.
On the other end, Dodgers starters had thrown at least six innings in each of their last four games to minimize the tax on the bullpen.
“Everybody’s doing their job,” Díaz said. “All the guys are putting a lot of work together. We are winning a lot of close games. That’s something we want, to help this team to win.”
A NEW “holiday tax” will add £500million a year to the cost of UK breaks, business leaders warn.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged not to allow mayors the power to raise funds by slapping a levy on overnight stays at hotels, campsites and B&Bs.
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UK Hospitality says the new ‘holiday tax’ could add £100 to a two-week family stay in cities, such as BrightonCredit: AlamyTwo hundred bosses from firms such as Butlin’s and Haven have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, hitting out at the plansCredit: PA
The Confederation of British Industry said it will drive up inflation, hamper investment and mean more red tape.
Two hundred bosses from firms such as Butlin’s and Haven have written to Ms Reeves hitting out at the plans.
A consultation closed in February.
CBI head of tax policy Alice Jeffries said: “The Government should be sending a clear message that Britain is open for business and tourist visitors alike — not making it harder for people to spend their time and money here.”
She said the policy could apply a handbrake to investment, jeopardise jobs and squeeze margins for a sector facing one of the country’s heaviest tax burdens.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Lawrence Bennett wasn’t only a guardian of the green jackets — the iconic garment of Augusta National — but he also oversaw their cremation.
That was among his many responsibilities in a career that spanned 51 years, where he first picked up litter then picked up everyone from celebrities to sports heroes to ex-presidents as the club’s top chauffeur.
“All I’ve known from Day 1 was Augusta National,” said Bennett, 72, sitting in the living room of his tidy home six miles from the storied course. His hallways are painted Masters green. Paintings of the course hang on the walls, as do photographs of famous people with heartfelt inscriptions.
For decades, he embraced the club. The members hugged him back, from bankrolling his college tuition to sending him generous gifts when he retired in 2013 and donations when his beloved wife, Cheryl, died in 2020 after suffering a massive stroke.
Lawrence Bennett, a longtime chauffeur at Augusta National, holds a framed portion of the logo that appears on the green Masters jackets.
(Sam Farmer / Los Angeles Times)
Bennett isn’t watching the Masters this week — he tuned in for Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and some other greats over the years — and he said he’s never swung a golf club. But his job was his life, even though he moonlighted as a high school teacher and administrator.
His father, too, bled green. The late and legendary Freddie Bennett began as a young caddie and worked his way up to caddie master, looking for that ideal chemistry between club members or tournament competitors and the men who carried their golf bags and advised them on putting lines.
“Once you work at Augusta National, they don’t want half of your time,” the younger Bennett said. “They want all of your time. And that’s what he did, and that’s what I did.”
Father and son were highly regarded at the club.
“There’s no doubt they commanded respect,” said Ward Clayton, author of “The Legendary Caddies of Augusta National.” “But at the same time, they understood, whether you’re working for Augusta National or a top corporation, you’ve got to follow the guidelines of the place you’re working for. I think they understood that to the highest degree.”
Augusta National opens its gates to the world every April but otherwise is so secretive that it won’t confirm how many members it has, let alone name them. The waiting list for Masters tickets has been closed for decades and patron badges are passed down through families like heirlooms. The club is closed from mid-May until October, and new buildings appear as if by magic, yet fit in as if they’ve been around forever.
As his father and other club employees did, Bennett signed a non-disclosure agreement that lasted 10 years. Now, more than a decade after his retirement, he’s telling some of his stories.
Hot pockets
When an Augusta member died, left the club or simply wanted a new green jacket, Bennett was responsible for disposing of the old garments. That meant cutting off a coat’s emblem on the pocket, buttons and name tags in the lining, then taking what was left to a local funeral home for cremation. It wasn’t an everyday event. Bennett and a security guard from the club would bring 20-30 of the jackets that would be placed in a coffin-like cardboard box and pushed into a 2,400-degree oven.
Lawrence Bennett, longtime chauffeur at Augusta National, points to a painting of the course in his home.
(Sam Farmer / Los Angeles Times)
“We had to wait until the ashes cooled down to make sure we weren’t leaving buttons or anything identifying about it, and the funeral home would take care of the rest,” Bennett said. “They would just toss it.”
Occasionally, deceased members were buried in their green jackets.
“Some members’ families started to request that,” he said. “And I know one guy — I had to go take the jacket, a local member — I had to watch them put it on him. Didn’t like that too good. Watch them put it on, fixing it neat, and report back to the club manager that it was on.”
Watch your speed
The club had three station wagons and a long blue limousine when Bennett began chauffeuring at age 17. He was well spoken and polite, so his bosses soon began sending him on the most important jobs.
Once, a member named Alexander Chisholm from Mississippi had come into town for a party and round of golf, then stayed over for a dinner at a fancy place called the Green Boundary Club in Aiken, S.C. Bennett brought him in the limo.
“My dad said, `Boy, if you’re going to South Carolina, slow down because they’ll give you a ticket in a minute. They watch for Augusta tags to give you tickets,’” Bennett recalled.
He started slow and cautious.
“Mr. Chisholm, with a big cigar in his mouth, said, ‘Can you go any faster than this?’” he said. “Now, I’m 19. That’s all I needed to hear. I stepped on the gas.”
As soon as he crossed the Savannah River, the police lights pulled up behind him.
“The officer wasn’t real nice,” Bennett said. “He said, `Boy, can’t you read? Can’t you see that speed limit?’ Mr. Chisholm was in back and said, `How much is the ticket?’ The officer said it was going to cost me $150.”
Chisholm peeled off three $100 bills.
“Here,” the member told the officer. “Take $300, because we’re going to be coming back the same damn way.”
Hail to the chief
Back when he was in first grade, Bennett feigned illness so he could get sent home and spend some time with his dad, whom he hadn’t seen in two weeks.
“I would hear him come home and get in the bed, but I didn’t see him because he came home when I was asleep,” he said. “He left when I was asleep. So one day I was at school, and I played sick. So I told my teacher my stomach was hurting.”
His mother was working at the time, so the school called the club.
“Dad came to get me, and he took me to work, gave me a Coca-Cola and a little pack of crackers,” he recalled. “He said, `You can’t be running around, because the President is here.’ Well, I’m 6 or 7. I thought he was talking about George Washington.”
Then, his father pulled a milk crate up to a hedge.
“He said, `You want to see the President?’ So I went out, and he put me on this box, and I could look over the top of the hedge, and there was Eisenhower. That was Clifford Roberts, and that was Bobby Jones,” he said, referencing the Roberts and Jones, co-founders of Augusta National.
Bennett has some snapshot memories of the president.
“I remember him being a big man, big stomach,” he said. “He had brown pants on with pleats, and he got up and made his tee shot off number one, and he looked over and saw me. He did just like this [crisply saluting the child]. I did it back at him.”
The moment left an impression.
“That was my first really inkling of what my daddy did,” he said, “and the type of people that were at the club.”
Supreme honor
As a young chauffeur, Bennett had all sorts of driving duties. He would take members’ wives antique shopping or sit through movies with the children of members who were bored at the tournament.
He picked up Christopher Lee at the airport once, and — as a big fan of Dracula — he half-believed he saw the English actor transforming into a vampire while they drove to the club.
“As we got back, it was getting dark, and all I could see — this was in my mind now — those fiery red eyes in the rear view mirror,” said Bennett, recounting the meeting on the “70 Years of Masters Magic” podcast.
Lawrence Bennett, longtime chauffeur at Augusta National, shows some Augusta National keepsakes at his home.
(Sam Farmer / Los Angeles Times)
“When he got out, I had to tell him. I said, `You know what? I was nervous because all I saw was your eyes and your face in the mirror.’ And it was illegal to get an autograph, but I got it.”
In 2013, the last Masters for Bennett, he drove Arnold Palmer back to the airport and they both got teary rolling back down Magnolia Lane and out of the club.
Maybe the most memorable assignment was picking up Sandra Day O’Connor. He was especially excited because he had just been teaching his ninth-grade students about her, the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
The two became fast friends, and O’Connor gave him her personal pocket constitution. She inscribed it: “For Lawrence Bennett and his ninth-grade class, always remember the constitution protects you. Sandra Day O’Connor.”
Her husband, John Jay O’Connor, told Bennett: “Do you know what she has given you? She takes that to the bench every day she goes to work.”
It’s framed in Bennett’s den.
From the heart
Bennett, whose mother was a nurse and semi-professional bowler, was the first in his family to finish high school, and first to go to college, where he would earn three degrees. His younger sister followed him, earning a degree in nursing.
Tuition at Paine College wasn’t easy on the family. That’s where the club stepped in.
“Sometimes my dad didn’t have the money, so the club manager [Phil Wahl] said, `Lawrence, Freddie, everything OK?’ My dad said, `No, Mr. Wahl, I’ve got to pay $855.53 for that boy’s semester.’ Mr. Wahl said, `Go to the front desk and get a petty cash slip.’ They gave daddy $855.53 per semester for four or five years. Never asked for it back.
“So I owe a lot to Augusta National. I tried to pay it back but they wouldn’t take it.”
Freddie Bennett retired in 1999 after 46 years as caddie master and 51 years on the property — just as long as his son would work there. He died in 2006.
“Paine College, this huge chapel, we had daddy’s funeral down there,” the younger Bennett said. “It was packed. If you looked at the private field, you thought it was tournament time. The private jets came to his funeral.
“The club manager got up and spoke, and he talked about all of the things that Freddie had done, all the achievements he had done. But he said Freddie’s greatest accomplishment at this club: `He gave us Lawrence.’
“I lost it,” he said, tears welling, “I never thought anybody thought that of me.”
As the world famous Settle to Carlisle line celebrates 150 years of service, the Mirror joined the 1 m passengers expected this year.
150th anniversary of Settle to Carlisle line
It is widely lauded as one of the best train journeys in the world, and is just about to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
A huge public outcry and an appeal that raised £3m saved it from closure in the 1980s.
The Settle to Carlisle line survived and remains one of the most scenic in the country, crossing the Pennine Hills, the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria’s Eden Valley.
It celebrates 150 years since its first rail passenger journey with a series of events including a steam train service.
The Mirror joined some of the 1 million passengers expected to travel on the route this year.
It was wet, wild and stormy as we ventured south from Carlisle to the Ribblehead Viaduct.
Its magnificent 400m arches are 400 meters (1,300 ft) long. A huge workforce of 6,000 men – 2,300 specifically on the Viaduct – built it between 1870 and 1875.
You can imagine the conditions they faced during winter on the wide open moorland surrounding the giant structure.
The navvies who died are buried in the cemetery at Chapel-le-Dale. Even in the pouring rain, the path passing under its 24 arches remains busy with hikers and cyclists.
You must take a short break during your train journey to see the viaduct in all its glory.
From your train seat, you have a breathtaking backdrop of rolling countryside.
Wind bent the trees on the distant hills. The stations are straight out of a 1930s black-and-white film.
“I say that is my office window,” said Yvonne Harland, 52, a Carlisle-based conductor on the route.
“It is absolutely stunning. Many passengers are hikers and dog lovers heading outdoors.
“It does not matter if you are in the valleys around Dent or the Ribblehead Viaduct.
“It is a tonic. You have to get off the train to see the viaduct; otherwise, you only catch a glimpse.
“The Three Peaks are just beautiful too. No disrespect to people who work in an office, but it takes some beating.
“I was in education for 20 years, and I fancied a change.”
Regular passenger Robin Gilder, 83, a retired ITV newsman, remembers the campaign to save the line in the 1980s.
Now he enjoys bringing along his grandson Finley Doran, 12, for days out. “I use it regularly now,” he said. “Especially since I retired.
“They had a dog sign the petition to save the railway and there is a statue to him at Garsdale station.
“There was huge public outcry when they announced they were closing this line.
“They raised millions of pounds to keep it open. So I think we should use it as much as we can.”
Finley, tucking into some sweets and pop, added: “I have been on about twenty times now. We use it all the time.”
For Scottish pharmacist Amy Robertson, it is her maiden journey. The 28-year-old is heading to Leeds to see a former friend with the misty hills rolling by her window.
“It does remind me of Scotland,” she said. “This is really lovely and you get some really nice views when you go up to the north of Scotland around Fort William.
“The weather may not be very good, but the countryside is beautiful.”
Northern recorded 995,000 passenger journeys on the line in 2025, the highest number since the Covid-19 pandemic.
But demand is expected to rise this year. Commercial and customer director Alex Hornby said he was confident passenger numbers would hit 1m.
“Customers can enjoy miles of breathtaking scenery, which changes throughout the year, and there are plenty of opportunities to get off and explore,” he said.
The Settle to Carlisle section of the line was completed in 1875; freight trains ran for a year before passenger trains were introduced on May 1, 1876.
The Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company will run a chartered steam train between Carlisle and York on May 23.
Karen Morley-Chesworth, their community rail officer, told the Mirror: “The Lonely Planet said it was in the Top 10 most scenic railway journeys in Europe.
“So it brings in many tourists and serves local people all year round. It runs down the backbone of Britain through Cumbria, Yorkshire and the Pennines.
“But it is the beauty of it that stays with you; every station takes you back in time, and the history of the line still fascinates people. It remains important to communities all along the route.”
Northern is set to offer £1.50 tickets to customers travelling on the route to mark the milestone.
Thousands of workers contributed to its complex construction, which includes 14 tunnels and more than 20 viaducts along its 72 miles (116km) of track.
In 1983, British Rail announced plans to close the line to passengers amid concerns about the cost of repairing the Ribblehead Viaduct. But £3m was spent between 1988 and 1991 to bring it back into use.
The Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company’s chairman, Pete Myers, said the company was working with communities along the line to mark the “special anniversary year.”
He said: “The Settle to Carlisle line is unique, connecting communities from Yorkshire through to Cumbria, and also providing a sustainable and beautiful way for visitors to explore the Yorkshire Dales, Westmorland Dales and Lake District.”
Coachella’s got you all in your head? Think you’d rather watch Bieber while you’re in your bed?
Then you’re in luck! Hot off the success of both“Swag” albums and a (literally) stripped down Grammys performance, Beliebers will be able to watch Justin Bieber’s day 2 headlining set at 11:25 p.m. on the Coachella YouTube livestream.
Before Bieber takes the Main Stage, viewers at home will be able to catch The Strokes, Labrinth and David Byrne at the Outdoor Theatre, PinkPantheress at the Mojave and more.
There’s been a delay on the livestream during previous festivals, so don’t worry if Bieber, The Strokes or another one of your favorite artists starts a little later than their posted time.
Four years ago, at the McDonald’s All-American game, future Bruins Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez stood side by side at the end of the contest, having been named co-MVPs. It was the first time the two MVPs of the annual event were headed to the same college program.
Now, as the only remaining members of UCLA’s 2022 No. 1 recruiting class, they have reached their ultimate goal: an NCAA championship. Their work ethic, their high character, their loyalty, and the pride they take in wearing the four letters on their jerseys will long be remembered and appreciated. With fellow senior and graduate-student teammates — Lauren Betts, Angela Dugalic, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens, all transfers from former Pac-12 teams — they have put themselves into the Bruin record books.
To this awesome group of young women: Thanks for the memories and the joy you have brought to Westwood. You will be missed.
Sandy Siegel Sherman Oaks
After witnessing their first-round victory in person, the UCLA women looked ready to make a run in the NCAA tournament. What we saw was a way to compete in any style of play. There was a little bit of everything. But clearly they were the best team. Congratulations on your first title. I can’t wait to see the banner hanging in the rafters. Being a lifelong fan of UCLA sports, it just looks right when you see it in lights. UCLA BRUINS, NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
David DeLong Thousand Oaks
As a Trojan alum, it was awkward, but nonetheless, I was elated to see UCLA knock off USC. Party on!
David Marshall Santa Monica
The UCLA women’s basketball team’s first NCAA national championship was especially sweet because they had to defeat USC in the title game!
Nick Rose Newport Coast
Long live the Pac-12 Avengers!
Mark Ryan Fullerton
What a great article on Gabriela [Jaquez] by Mirjam [Swanson.] I just so loved rooting for this UCLA women’s team because they’re such wonderful people as well as players. Having said that, Gabriela would have been my choice for MVP, but I’m fine with Lauren [Betts.]
Michael Reuben Anaheim Hills
It was refreshing to watch the postgame after UCLA soundly defeated the University of South Carolina on Sunday. Everyone was crying — players, coaches, losers because they lost, winners because they won. This was so much nicer than the angry confrontation between coaches at the end of the South Carolina-UConn game on Friday, after which [Geno] Auriemma petulantly stalked off. As in politics, women seem to do it better without men.
Henry A. Hespenheide Hermosa Beach
Remembering Lopes
Growing up in L.A. during the 1970s, the photo of Davey Lopes sliding into second against Dave Concepcion brought back memories of the Dodgers’ rivalry with the Big Red Machine during that decade. Being a huge fan of those Dodger teams, a large color photo of the Dodger infield of [Steve] Garvey, Lopes, [Bill] Russell and [Ron] Cey adorned my DTLA office for many years.
Davey Lopes was the most exciting of that great infield and the inspirational leader of the ‘74, ‘77, ‘78 and ‘81 World Series teams. Not only was he superior at stealing bases — he stole 47 at the age of 40 — but also hit for power, as exemplified by his team-leading three homers and seven RBIs in the ‘78 World Series. RIP, Davey.
Ken Feldman Tarzana
Garvey, Cey, Russell and Lopes. What an infield! I grew up with that group, and they cemented my love for the Dodgers at a young age. Every spring you could count on those four as starters in the infield. Davey Lopes was just superb. A terrific base stealer who had over 500 steals in his career. Always reliable at second base and at the plate. He was an All-Star his last four years with the Dodgers, culminating with the World Series win in 1981 over the hated Yankees. Davey, we will miss you for sure.
Dave Ring Manhattan Beach
Davey Lopes was the heartbeat of those great Dodgers teams — grit, intelligence, and pure excitement every time he reached base. For fans who grew up watching that legendary infield, his passing feels deeply personal, but his legacy will endure.
Steven Ross Carmel
Championing fans
I had the privilege of attending Major League Baseball ownership meetings for a decade. Arte Moreno and his then team president, John Carpino, were the absolute leaders in advocating that MLB needed to be as financially fan friendly as possible. In my opinion, the Angels fully back their desire to have a sustainable and comfortable fan experience by offering a wonderful game-day fan experience.
When I am able to attend an Angels game, I do not hear gripes about parking costs, concession prices or ticket prices. The stadium staff at every level are simply wonderful and always so welcoming. And while I have no stats, the number of families and children in attendance appear significant.
Should the team ever come under different ownership, I hear that one of the under tapped values of owning the Angels is the ability to increase ticket and related revenues. The proven focus on having a sustainable fan game experience is the sole dictate of the owner.
Lew Wolff Los Angeles
Sticker shock
After taking the time to sign up for LA28 with the hopes of getting an opportunity to purchase tickets for the Olympics, including tickets to the opening ceremony, I was gravely disappointed after receiving a time slot for purchases to learn that opening ceremony tickets were “currently unavailable.“ In further checking for other opportunities to purchase reasonably priced tickets, I also was disappointed to see that the cheapest tickets available for some of the high-interest sporting events were in the hundreds of dollars. It doesn’t look like the plan to have locals purchase tickets and fill the seats for the venues is going to work out the way LA28 thought it would. Shame on them.
Ruthanne Rozenek Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.
Jesse Kardon has come a long way from his days as a teenager messing around with Ableton in his bedroom. The 33-year-old DJ and producer better known as Subtronics is now an established EDM star. Over the last 15 years, he has built a career that has taken him from playing small clubs in his hometown of Philadelphia to a fall headlining set at the Sphere in Las Vegas and then a landmark run of six sold-out shows at L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium in December.
Back in 2022, he performed a surprise set at Coachella’s intimate electronic-focused Do Lab stage, but this year marks his proper Indio, Calif., debut where he is the highest-billed dubstep-rooted artist, playing the massive Sahara Tent on Sunday and April 19. He will also perform two Southland shows between his Coachella sets at the Fox Theater in Pomona on Tuesday and at the GV Surf Club in Palm Springs on April 18.
While EDM has emerged over the years as a dominant force, comprising nearly 45% of this year’s lineup, artists from the sometimes polarizing dubstep/riddim scene are rarely given such a prominent platform.
Subtronics’ sound has expanded in recent years. His remix of John Summit’s “Crystallized feat. Inéz” has garnered praise, while “Fibonacci Pt. 2,” his latest in a set of math-inspired releases, interweaves the melodic with the heavy. “Infinity,” featuring fellow EDM DJ Grabbitz, and “Contour,” featuring vocalist Lyrah, stand out.
Although his work has evolved to include more melodic soundscapes, Subtronics remains committed to bringing more people to a better understanding of the genre that first brought his life into focus. He will never forget how playing drums for years as a kid taught him the foundations of rhythm, and he carries the gritty sounds of Philadelphia hip-hop and trap that shaped that sound into his work today.
Dubstep has affected his life in deeply personal ways. As a kid, a shared love of the scene brought him closer to his sister. Later on, he met Sonya Broner, the dubstep artist known as Level Up. Broner is now his wife, and they often collaborate.
In a remote conversation from his new home in Laurel Canyon, Subtronics talks about his milestone Coachella run and shares thoughts on everything from what to expect from his set to his legacy in dubstep and beyond.
This interview is lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
I’m really hopeful to introduce bass music to a lot of new people, because I believe the rising tide raises all ships,” Subtronics said.
(Jason Fenmore)
What is your mindset? How are you feeling going into this weekend?
“I’ve been really super hyper focused on Coachella for about, pretty much the moment we finished the tour, which was about two, three weeks ago. It’s been really all hands on deck, nonstop working on that.”
Take me back to when you first got the news that you booked Coachella. Was that something you and your team had been working specifically toward?
“It was honestly, an almost several year plan where that really was the goal, and we were kind of thinking of the different opportunities we’ve had over the years, and the things we were going to have going forward, and how could we strategize in a way where we can work our way towards Coachella, and that’s kind of what the Shrine was. The hope was like, if we can sell out three [nights at Shrine], we’ve got a pretty good chance of getting a booking, and then we sold out a ton of them. It’s such a good time slot on such a great stage…both me and my inner child are completely freaking out.”
Did you take a moment to celebrate?
“Absolutely, yes. And you know what? It always comes in the form of, like, little moments. Because I do get so… I do have these “pause” moments where it’s like, ‘Stop and appreciate how far you’ve come.’ ‘Stop and realize the gravity of this. You’re really doing these things; all of this hard work has manifested and paid off. This Coachella slot, and even just playing at all, is ammunition to fight back against the imposter syndrome. It’s beyond my wildest dreams and expectations. I never expected any of this to get this far, and I was just trying to learn how to make cool sounds.”
Do you think about historical context, where you fit in in the history of electronic music and in Coachella’s history?
“Oh, man, I love that question so much, because it’s my No. 1 thing. When I first started, aside from wanting to learn and get good at it… my goal was to contribute to the culture and leave a mark that’s remembered, because I’m really passionate about the history of both dubstep and dance music. So many historic moments happened at Coachella. And it really is such an honor, because I just think of ‘Oh my God, dude.’ Like, Daft Punk, you know? I can’t even wrap my head around it, but it is the thing that matters most to me: being remembered years from now and doing things that really feel like they contributed to the culture.
I’m really hopeful to introduce bass music to a lot of new people, because I believe the rising tide raises all ships. There’s a lot of us dubstep and bass music makers. And I think anytime one of us gets an opportunity, it really kind of raises the ceiling for the whole scene, and we are all in it together… there’s so many talented producers that deserve to be able to make a living off of it. And the bigger the scene gets, the more people can fit under the umbrella, and pay their rent and live a successful life doing what they love.”
The highest-billed dubstep-rooted artist on this year’s festival lineup, Subtronics views his performances as a chance to introduce bass music to mainstream audiences.
(Jason Fenmore)
Have you been feeling any pressure? And if so, how have you been handling it?
“Yeah, definitely, because I think I feel pressure from multiple angles. I’ll feel pressure from the very core fan base to stick to a certain style. And then I’ll feel pressure as both a DJ and a music producer. And whenever I get these opportunities, they’re so far outside of, you know, the core of dubstep, I feel the opposite end of pressure where it’s like, you should read the room, be a DJ, you know, like, figure out what their energy is. So it’s kind of pulling me in two different directions, and my answer to that has been to have faith in my own taste — to ignore both of them, to just completely ignore everybody, and to trust what I like and have faith that my taste is what got me here in the first place.”
What is your overarching goal for these shows?
“I make a bunch of stuff, but I do mostly identify as a dubstep and bass music artist. So, to be able to represent that on such a gigantic platform to a whole ton of people who might not necessarily be 100% EDM festival attendees… to play for them is really exciting. And then the livestream as well, it’s like there’s a crazy amount of viewers who might be completely new to bass music or new to dubstep, you know, tuning in. I take it as a responsibility to introduce people to bass music and contextualize it in the best way I can. And also expressing myself as honestly and authentically as I can — having that moment of individuality and uniqueness.
What do you think mainstream audiences might not understand about dubstep?
“Something that I do think is interesting is the original wave of dubstep, the original U.K., 2004 through 2008, it was on the radio. It was melodic, it was musical. It wasn’t nearly as polarizing. Obviously, it got more aggressive and became more of a huge, showy, crazy, overstimulating thing as it, as it moved its way over to the States. But I seek to strike a middle ground. Something I experienced a lot when I first started touring was being in a sub-genre incorrectly labeled [as riddim].
The issue is that riddim is already a genre: dancehall. It already exists…I think that’s not a very well-known thing. It should have been called swamp or something like that…trench. A few names were being thrown around. I called it “wonky step” at the time because it was just really wonky and repetitive. I guess riddim is what stuck for whatever reason. I was playing for a group that was much more melodic, much more theatrical, and everyone who came up to me after the shows told me, ‘I don’t like riddim. I’ve never liked riddim before, but hearing it in your set…it makes sense to me now. So I hope to be almost like a translator. My goal is to express myself authentically and honestly, playing all original music in a way that makes sense to both groups of people [mainstream and insiders].”
Do you remember your very first performance as Subtronics? And is there something from that time you carry with you going into this weekend?
The first time I was ever actually on stage, like at a dance music venue with my name on the screen, like playing my own songs. I was opening at SoundGarden Hall, which is now known as the Ave. One of the things that early on that blew my mind the most, I was playing an after party in one of the worst neighborhoods in Philadelphia, one of the most dangerous places I’ve ever been to, maybe in my whole life, and I was standing by the front door where they’re dealing drugs and selling nitrous and some a stranger walks in the door, someone who I didn’t know, and I heard them say, ‘I heard Subtronics is playing tonight. Is that true?’ And it exploded my brain. It was the first time I had a fan that I didn’t know personally, and I will never forget that. I will never, ever, ever, ever forget as long as I live.”
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Alene Tchekmedyian, with an assist from Rebecca Ellis, giving you the latest on all things local government.
Last summer, the Los Angeles Fire Department enlisted a public relations firm to help shape the narrative around its response to the Palisades fire as it geared up to release its long-awaited after-action report.
The optics around the devastating fire hadn’t been good.
A Times investigation revealed that top LAFD officials failed to pre-deploy engines in Pacific Palisades, despite forecasts of dangerously high winds. Mayor Karen Bassousted the fire chief. The thousands of residents who lost their homes were growing increasingly angry. City and LAFD officials were concerned about how the report, which was intended to examine what mistakes the department made and how to avoid repeating them, would land.
“While we have a section that deals with press inquiries, media, and interview requests, they are not equipped to deal with what I call a ‘Crisis,’” LAFD Deputy Chief Kairi Brown wrote to the Lede Company in July.
The Times obtained the email and other materials this week through the California Public Records Act. Brown wrote in the email that his brother, Jay Brown, who co-founded the entertainment company Roc Nation with Jay-Z, recommended the firm.
At the time, LAFD’s public information director position was vacant, but a staff roster shows that two captains and four firefighters were assigned to the Community Liaison Office. The captains, Erik Scott and Adam Van Gerpen, each made more than $200,000 in overtime alone last year, on top of their roughly $200,000 base salaries, payroll data show.
Scott and Van Gerpen did not immediately respond to a question about what the overtime was for.
Fire officials also met with and considered another PR firm called Cielo Strategic Communications, but ultimately selected Lede for the job. Lede bills itself as a “full-service strategy, communications and social impact consulting firm,” with high-profile celebrity clients like Kerry Washington and Emma Stone, according to its website.
The Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, which calls itself “the official nonprofit arm of the LAFD” that provides “vital equipment and funds critical programs to help the LAFD save lives,” took care of the $65,000 bill.
The Times has described efforts by Bass and others to water down the after-action report. Lede’s role, according to internal documents, was to shield the LAFD and the mayor’s office from “reputational harm” associated with the report’s release.
Bass also was involved in media spin, with Scott writing in an Oct. 9 email that “any additional interviews with the Fire Chief would likely depend on the Mayor’s guidance.”
The documents obtained by The Times this week reveal that Lede embarked on “Media 101” training for interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva, including basic tips such as: “While reporters aren’t always out to get you, they’re not your friends either.”
“Tricks” that reporters use to get people talking, according to a Lede slideshow, include: “Speculate,” “Stir the pot,” “The long pause/silence” and “Act like your friend.”
Other advice from Lede: “Stay on message and don’t volunteer information that is not asked.” Don’t “offer information to fill the silence (this is a reporter tactic).”
The Lede Company previously declined to comment on its work for the LAFD, citing client confidentiality. An LAFD spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Other records previously released show that Lede also analyzed news articles before and after the Palisades fire — the goal was to get a sort of vibe check of LAFD from the public — and found criticism of department leadership as well as support for the rank and file.
And a communications plan developed in the event that the after-action report was leaked to reporters involved convening an “emergency briefing between LAFD, Lede, and the Mayor’s Office within 60 minutes of discovery,” as well as embargoed briefings within a day “to control the narrative and reinforce lessons learned and key actions coming out of the LAFD.”
Lede worked with the LAFD until about mid-November, when Jaime Moore took over as fire chief. A couple of months later, the agency hired a public information director, Stephanie Bishop, to lead the Community Liaison Office.
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State of play
— SB CANDIDATE: Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Prattacknowledged this week that he’s living in Santa Barbara County after the Palisades fire destroyed his home. He’s allowed to use his Palisades address to vote and run for office, as long as he intends to return, election officials said.
— BASS BUCKS: Bass and City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado say they want to allot more than $360 million to developers and nonprofits creating affordable housing. The money, which comes largely from the “mansion tax,” would fund 80 projects.
— REVOLVING DOOR: A Times analysis found the longer the mayor’s signature program to battle homelessness exists, the worse its metrics are. As Inside Safe finished its third year in December, roughly 40% of the people who had gone indoors were back on the street.
— CHANGE AGENT: Everyone running for L.A. mayor wants to be a champion of change. As her first term comes to an end, Bass is campaigning on change, vowing to tackle decades-old problems. So is City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who says her decision to run was based on “a sense of urgency that things needed to change.”
—FIGHT FLOP: More than a year after California Atty. Gen. RobBonta charged 30 probation officers with facilitating so-called “gladiator fights” among youths inside the county’s juvenile halls, almost half of the criminal cases are falling apart. State prosecutors dismissed charges against one-third of the officers, and four more entered into plea deals Tuesday that will end with their cases dropped.
— BADGE BREACH: Sensitive police records, including personnel files, were seized by hackers in a breach involving the L.A. city attorney’s office. A group known for conducting ransomware attacks on large entities took credit for the hack, which involves 337,000 files.
— OLYMPIC OOPS: Los Angeles officials are worried that taxpayers could be on the hook for budget-busting costs to support the 2028 Olympic Games, if the profit promised by LA28 doesn’t materialize. City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and Councilmember Monica Rodriguez both want a contract pledging that LA28 cover any future costs incurred by the city.
— VANISHING BLUES: Up for reelection and facing a budget deficit, Bass says she’s shifting from her original plan to grow the L.A. Police Department to the 9,500-officer force it once was. Her new goal: making sure the department doesn’t shrink from its current total of 8,677 officers, which is the lowest in nearly a quarter-century.
— PRICEY PROTESTS: A well-known LAPD critic and two attorneys are suing the LAPD after officers allegedly fired less-lethal rounds at them during a protest last summer. Activist Jason Reedy says he was shot in the groin after confronting an officer outside LAPD headquarters.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature homelessness program monitored 126 encampment sites across the city and visited an interim housing site.
On the docket next week: L.A. County officials will unveil their budget for the upcoming fiscal year Monday, with the supervisors weighing in at their Tuesday board meeting.
Stay in touch
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
The defending Masters champion was sprinting away from the field Friday, building a six-shot lead heading into the weekend and putting himself in prime position to become the first repeat winner since Tiger Woods in 2002.
McIlroy atoned for two bogeys with nine birdies, shooting a seven-under-par 65 to improve on his stellar 67 in the opening round.
At 12 under, he now holds the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history.
“When I was standing on the 12th tee, I didn’t imagine that I would be six ahead going into the weekend,” said McIlroy, who birdied six of the final seven holes despite hitting into the trees on holes 13, 15 and 17.
“I’ve always had the ability to go on these runs … but it’s staying aggressive. My little mantra today was keep swinging, and keep swinging hard at it.”
And he completed that masterpiece in the afternoon, when the legendary course was even firmer and more slippery than it was in the morning. The warm weather and cloudless skies set the stage for a test of surgical precision in the final two rounds.
“These greens are going to be concrete,” said Wyndham Clark, who followed an even-par round with a four-under 68. “Obviously getting really fast without the wind, so it’s going to really matter hitting it in the fairway and the angles, and being patient.”
Rory McIlroy walks across Nelson Bridge with his caddy during the second round at the Masters.
(Eric Gay / Associated Press)
Fifty-four competitors from 15 different countries made the cut from a starting field of 91.
Of his jaw-dropping finishing scramble, McIlroy said: “The only way I can describe it is everything that you see or any situation that you come across, you can find a positive in it. And then you see birdies and you can see ways to make birdies. Hit it in the trees at 13, fine, I can make a birdie doing it this way. Hit it in the trees at 15, same thing.”
Whereas McIlroy created separation, Tyrrell Hatton made a case for inclusion. He was two over after Thursday but played himself back into contention with a 66 on Friday, hitting all 18 greens in regulation and becoming just the third player in 30 years to do that at the Masters. He is tied for seventh with Clark.
Patrick Reed, who shot a 69 in the first round, matched that in the second to claim a share of second place with Sam Burns.
Reed, who left for LIV Golf but announced in January he plans to return to the PGA Tour, played golf locally at Augusta State University and won this tournament in 2018. He said that Masters experience helps in a big way now.
Of winning a green jacket, he said, “Until you do, you always have that little voice of doubt in the back of your mind.”
Patrick Reed hits off the 18th tee during the second round of the Masters on Friday.
(Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
Asked if his near-miss in 2025 serves as extra motivation this year, Rose said: “Not really, if I’m honest. I don’t really need to try any harder, know what I mean? Trying harder ain’t going to help me.”
It was a rough day for Scottie Scheffler, ranked No. 1 in the world, as his 74 put him 12 shots back of McIlroy.
Bryson DeChambeau was on the bubble all day before a triple-bogey seven on the 18th hole. He missed the cut six over.
Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson missed the cut, as did 66-year-old Fred Couples, who was playing well Thursday until taking a quadruple-bogey nine on the 15th hole.
McIlroy played with 18-year-old amateur Mason Howell, who was sufficiently impressed as the defending champion birdied each of the final four holes.
“You’ve got to stay in your own lane, but it’s hard not to watch that,” Howell said. “That chip-in on 17 was unreal. That was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in sports, and I got to witness it in person, so that was awesome.”
A few years ago, some were predicting the demise of Spanish-language television.
Most of the Latino population growth over two decades has come from U.S. births, outpacing the arrival of immigrants. The thinking was that because most U.S.-born Latinos speak English and can consume a wide array of media, Spanish-language TV would recede in relevance.
But Telemundo has defied such forecasts to become one of the nation’s hottest news outlets.
Last year, Telemundo increased its audience for its evening news, anchored by Julio Vaqueiro, by 11% over the previous year, according to Nielsen data. Its Los Angeles station, KVEA Channel 52, has surpassed entrenched giants Walt Disney Co.’s KABC and Univision’s KMEX, attracting more viewers for its local evening and late-night newscasts.
The Miami-based division has a strong social media presence. Its Telemundo Noticias (News) account boasts 16 million followers on TikTok, topping ABC News, CNN and Fox News.
Cultural and demographic shifts have helped fuel Telemundo’s rise. After more than a decade of immigration declines, border crossings surged during President Biden’s tenure — a tide that turned with President Trump’s return to the White House. Instead, Trump brought a torrent of significant news events, including immigration raids that reverberated through Latino communities.
“We are growing because we are telling the stories that are important to our audience,” Gemma Garcia, Telemundo’s executive vice president for news, said. “We are very audience-driven.”
When U.S. military forces seized Venezuela’s then-president Nicolás Maduro in January, Telemundo quickly flew its main news anchor, Vaqueiro, to report from Colombia, which borders Venezuela. The network interrupted its usual Sunday night fare for a news special that scored solid ratings.
The younger journalist brings a softer tone to his reports. He was promoted to Telemundo’s main news anchor in 2021 after several assignments, including working at KVEA in L.A. He loves stepping out from behind the anchor desk in Miami to cover big stories.
“We’re very focused on being out there and reporting on the ground,” Vaqueiro said in an interview. “Being close to our audience, that’s a big part of what we are doing at Noticias Telemundo.”
Another key to Telemundo’s momentum has been its commitment to the Spanish language.
Media companies a decade ago raced to engage young, bilingual Latinos by launching start-ups, including a joint venture between ABC News and Univision called Fusion that flopped.
“With Bad Bunny’s rise and the Super Bowl, it felt like a shift in values towards the Spanish language,” said Mark Hugo Lopez, Pew Research Center’s director of race and ethnicity research. “It has become a source of cultural pride … and it seems to be impacting the ways in which English-speaking Latinos also think about their identity.”
Bad Bunny performed the Super Bowl halftime show in Spanish in February.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
That increased affinity suggests that Spanish isn’t going away anytime soon.
“Our data has shown that Latinos say it’s important that Latinos in the future speak Spanish here in the United States,” Lopez said.
A slow build to a news leader
Telemundo’s rise was a slow build, coming nearly a quarter-century after NBC bought the network for nearly $2 billion.
Years of effort took root after NBCUniversal agreed in 2011 to spend big for the U.S. Spanish-language media rights to the FIFA World Cup, dethroning Univision, which had long televised the prestigious soccer event. This year, Telemundo is poised “to deliver the largest coverage in Spanish-language media history,” the network said in a statement.
It will provide live coverage for all 104 matches, including on the Telemundo and Peacock streaming apps.
NBCUniversal integrated its English and Spanish-language news units at its television stations. In Los Angeles, KVEA’s newsroom is in the same building on the Universal lot as KNBC-TV Channel 4. The same managers run both divisions.
“All of these things have evolved,” said Millie Carrasquillo, a Hispanic media consultant and former Telemundo research senior vice president. “It’s an alignment of the audiences, an alignment of how technology is evolving — and also the way that news is being delivered.”
Telemundo’s national newscast, anchored by Vaqueiro, averages 1.2 million viewers, its largest audience in years.
But audiences, particularly younger ones, are less likely to watch TV news, so network executives have tapped the potential of TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to boost their reach.
On TikTok, Telemundo reporters broadcast live from outside the U.S. Supreme Court last week as justices heard oral arguments on Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship for babies born to parents who are in the country unlawfully. Telemundo featured live coverage of the traditional Easter egg roll at “La Casa Blanca” (the White House) and frequent reports about NASA’s Artemis II mission, which scored millions of views.
“Radio and television hasn’t gone away,” said Mari Castañeda, University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Commonwealth Honors College dean. “But Telemundo has recognized that [cellphones] are where most of their audience is located and they leaned into that.”
Social media posts are easy to share, serving as a viral expansion of the network’s audience.
“Telemundo has emerged as a leader because it has modernized,” added Castañeda, a native of La Puente in Los Angeles County.
The U.S. Latino population nearly doubled between 2000 and 2024, rising from 35 million to 68 million, according to the Pew Research Center. Since the Great Recession, the growth has largely come from U.S. births, and the median age of U.S.-born Latinos is about 21.
The trend line bent during the Biden years as U.S. births roughly equaled the arrival of immigrants, Lopez said.
“Immigrants are still a very large part of the Latino story,” he said.
Noticias Telemundo anchor Julio Vaqueiro talks to a child living in a makeshift migrant camp along the Rio Grande near the Ciudad Juarez-El Paso border on Feb. 28, 2024.
(Telemundo)
‘This is a country we really love’
Telemundo’s brightest star — Vaqueiro — was born in San Juan del Río, north of Mexico City and came to the U.S. when he was 26 with his wife, who was also born in Mexico.
“We have three American kids,” Vaqueiro said. “All we know as a family is the U.S. This is a country that we really love and we’re grateful to it.”
In many ways, Vaqueiro’s journey is the story of U.S. Latinos.
“He’s Mexican but he’s also a U.S. Latino and he understands the context and issues that communities are feeling,” said Castañeda. “There’s a sense of authenticity and care that comes through.”
Vaqueiro wrote a book, “Río Bravo. México, Estados Unidos y el regreso de Trump, (Rio Grande: Mexico, the United States, and the Return of Trump),” to explore the political mood during a period of tumult and often tense relations between the countries.
Telemundo strives to stay out of the political fray, Garcia said.
“We don’t think about politics,” Garcia said. “We cover what is happening within our community, and now more than ever, we are on top of our community’s stories.”
Vaqueiro added: “We have to be very careful reporting the facts and verifying every information that comes to us.”
Political divisions course through Latino communities, including in South Florida where Telemundo is headquartered.
“We’ve always known that Latinos are not a monolith,” Vaqueiro said. “This is a complex community that is constantly growing. It’s diverse: geographically, culturally and generationally.”
Interest in news has swelled since Trump began his second term. Ratings are also up for ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir,” which is drawing 8.4 million viewers per telecast this season, outpacing NBC, Fox News and CBS.
In national news, Univision still tops Telemundo. In local news, Telemundo’s KVEA has continued to build on its lead this year, although KMEX remains competitive and Disney’s KABC remains dominant among English-language stations.
“I just hope that we meet the moment,” Vaquerio said. “This is a critical moment for Latinos who are navigating very difficult times under a lot of pressure.”
He has another goal, too.
“I want to lift Latino voices who are moving forward — opening new businesses and graduating from college,” Vaqueiro said. “I want to talk about the positive side of this community that brings huge contributions to the United States.”
It’s been eight years since The xx performed together as a band, but it sure didn’t feel like it when the U.K. trio took the Main stage on Friday.
For one, the members haven’t exactly disappeared. Producer/drummer Jamie xx is a festival mainstay and one of the most sophisticated, exultant DJ’s working. Romy Madley Croft became a sapphic-nightlife sovereign in 2023 with the clubby “Mid Air,” after Sim’s own minimalist, horror-streaked “Hideous Bastard.”
The band’s songs are among the most timeless of their generation of indie rock. Forward-thinking enough to reinvent the guitar-bass-drums palette for the EDM boom; yet stark and lovelorn enough to pass for Motown in another era.
Yet their return was among the most buzzed-about sets of the festival this year, a credit to how well their catalog has stood up on the merits. At their debut, they almost singlehandedly inaugurated a shift towards hyper-intimate headphone pop – it’s hard to imagine Billie Eilish sounding quite the same without them.
Yet on Friday, they bolstered that purity with the confidence, swagger and precision of the veteran rock act they’ve become.
Dressed in their typical all-black palette, their faces carrying a little more gravity and composure with age, the set slipped between the ships-in-the-night duets of “Shelter” and “VCR” to the after-hours whomp of Romy’s “Enjoy Your Life.” “On Hold” best married the band’s two worlds, sample-soaked yet rock driven; “Angels” remained a peerless devotional ballad.
There was a sweet irony watching them close the set with “Intro,” a modest instrumental jam from their debut that has, through well-paying commercial placements, become their calling card to mainstream pop. It still rips. They even wrapped it up with into a noise-staggered breakdown that felt like actual stadium rock. Leave it to these three to drift into the murk of a warehouse club for a near decade, and come back bigger rock stars and more powerful a band than ever.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democratic front-runner in the hotly contested California governor’s race, was accused of sexual assault and misconduct by a former staff member and other women, according to reports published on Friday.
The woman who worked for the Northern California congressman said she had a consensual relationship at times, but that he sexually assaulted her twice when she was too inebriated to consent, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle. Three other woman also have accused Swalwell of sexual misconduct, including receiving unsolicited nude photos from the Democrat, according to CNN.
The allegations against Swalwell has his campaign teetering on collapse, with powerful labor organizations and other major supporters pulling their endorsements and dropping political ads promoting the once-promising candidate. U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, one of many prominent Democrats who supported Swalwell, and others have called on him to drop out of the race.
Swalwell had been gaining traction in the crowded field, and the controversy completely upends the race just as voters are starting to pay attention.
“It’s like a bomb went off,” said Mike Madrid, a Republican strategist who runs the research nonprofit Latino Working Class Project.
Swalwell’s staff member was 21 years old when she started working for the congressman, who is nearly two decades her senior, and said she did not report the incidents to police because of fears she would not be believed.
“I have no skin in the game of who becomes governor of California, but I feel people have a right to know whether the person who leads a state that is a safe haven for so many women actually treats women with dignity and will protect their rights,” the woman, who was not identified because she is the alleged victim of sexual assault, told the Chronicle. “No one protected me from him, and so I have to protect the other young women like me who aspire to work in this field and he could prey upon.”
Swalwell on Friday denied the accusations.
“These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor,” he said in a statement. “For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women. I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action. My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.”
State Supt. Tony Thurmond and San José Mayor Matt Mahan, other Democrats running for governor, immediately called on Swalwell to drop out of the race. Multiple staff members working for Swalwell’s campaign have resigned, according to a source close to the candidate who was not authorized to speak about the matter. .
Allegations of inappropriate behavior by the congressman have been circulating on social media and in political circles for weeks. On Thursday, an attorney representing Swalwell sent a cease-and-desist letter to at least one person demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual assault.
Two days earlier, the congressman denounced online claims that he had inappropriate relationships with young congressional staff members.
“It’s false,” he told reporters after a town hall in Sacramento, saying he had never behaved inappropriately with female staff members or had a sexual relationship with a staff member or an intern, and denied allegations that his staff members were asked to sign nondisclosure agreements or entered into legal settlements.
In 2025, another woman said after drinking with Swalwell, she ended up in his hotel room without recollection of how she got there and that her memory of what happened is “a blur,” according to CNN. Two other women told the cable network’s reporters that the congressman sent them unsolicited photos of his penis and other sexual messages on Snapchat.
The allegations come at a pivotal time in the race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom. The primary is June 2, but ballots start landing in voters’ mailboxes in less than a month.
The race to lead the nation’s largest state remains up for grabs, with eight prominent Democrats and two top Republicans jockeying to finish in first or second place in the primary and advance to the November election.
Swalwell, 45, is among the leading Democrats with the support of 13% of likely voters in a recent UC Berkeley poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. That places him tied for first place among Democrats with former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, with billionaire Tom Steyer not far behind.
Swalwell has won the support of powerful unions, including the California Teachers Assn., along with Schiff (D-Calif.) and many of his Democratic colleagues in Congress.
CTA President David Goldberg called the allegations “incredibly disturbing and unacceptable.”
“We are immediately suspending our support,” he said. “Our elected board will be meeting as soon as possible to follow our union’s democratic process to determine next steps.”
Rusty Hicks, the chairman of the California Democratic Party, said victims must be believed and also reiterated his call for Democratic candidates to gauge their viability.
“The allegations against Congressmember Swalwell are deeply disturbing,” he said in a statement. “Any person engaged in misconduct must take responsibility and be held accountable for their actions — including a Member of Congress and candidate for Governor. Finally, my call for all — repeat, all — candidates for Governor to ‘honestly assess the viability of their candidacy and campaign’ still stands. In fact, that call is more important now than ever before.”
The woman told the Chronicle that she was hired in 2019 to work in Swalwell’s Castro Valley district office when she was 21. He quickly began sending her messages and then nude pictures on Snapchat.
In September of that year, she said she had drinks with the congressman, blacked out and could feel the effects of intercourse when she woke up naked in Swalwell’s hotel bed, according to the report. In 2024, when she no longer worked for Swalwell, she said she attended a charity event honoring the congressman and met him for drinks afterward. She was intoxicated, but recalled Swalwell forcing himself upon her, and pushing him away and saying, “No,” according to the Chronicle.
The Chronicle corroborated her report with texts she sent a friend at the time and interviews with the friend and the woman’s then-boyfriend. The Chronicle’s reporters also reviewed medical records about a pregnancy and tests for sexually transmitted diseases a week after the alleged assault. She told them she had kept quiet about the alleged assaults because of fears about professional and personal repercussions.
Concern began brewing among Democrats before the allegations were published.
Cheyenne Hunt, a Laguna Hills attorney and executive director of a progressive advocacy group, and social media influencer Arielle Fodor, known online as Mrs. Frazzled, are among those publicizing the allegations online. Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, who has sparred with Swalwell in the past, has amplified the allegations on social media as well.
The Times has not independently corroborated reports of sexual misconduct.
Many politicians have survived serious allegations of sexual misconduct, including President Trump, who was accused of rape before winning the White House in 2016.
Others have seen a swift reckoning. In the hours and days after the late farmworkers rights leader César Chávez was accused of sexual abuse, his name and image were stripped from schools, streets and murals.
Two recent California governors have been accused of sexual impropriety; former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to behaving improperly during his movie career and Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged an affair with a married staffer while mayor of San Francisco.
Swalwell, a former prosecutor, is married and has three children. The Iowa native briefly ran for president in 2020. On Thursday, he canceled a town hall in Palm Desert, reportedly because he was sick.
He has previously spoken out against sexual misconduct, most recently in support of women who told the New York Times that they were assaulted by Chávez.
“The women who have come forward are carrying years of pain. Speaking about that takes real courage,” Swalwell wrote in a tweet last month. “Ana Murguia, Debra Rojas and Dolores Huerta are speaking with clarity and strength. I stand with them and condemn all instances of sexual assault.”
The congressman also defended women who accused Brett Kavanaugh, then a nominee to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, of sexual misconduct in 2018.
“The more and more cases that are separate and independent that look the same, pretty soon a prosecutor starts to say to a jury … that the arrows are pointing in the same directions and what are the chances that three or four women independently, who never met each other, would have similar experiences with one person,” he said on MSNOW’s Ari Melber in September 2018 amid Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings.
In Congress, Swalwell has been a prominent critic of President Trump, serving as a manager of the second impeachment of the president and frequently blistering Trump on cable news shows.
In late March, the Washington Post reported that FBI Director Kash Patel may release documents about a decade-old investigation about Swalwell’s connections with a suspected Chinese spy. Swalwell cut off ties with Christine Fang, or Fang Fang, in 2015 after intelligence officials warned him and other members of Congress about Chinese efforts to infiltrate legislators’ offices. Swalwell was not accused of impropriety.
After news of the potential release of the files broke, Swalwell accused Trump of trying to sway the gubernatorial election and weaponizing the federal government against his political enemies.
Swalwell’s attorneys filed a cease-and-desist letter with Patel and the FBI. No documents have been released as of Friday.
He was previously accused of mortgage fraud by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte. Swalwell sued Pulte last year but dropped the suit this month.
In the gubernatorial race, Swalwell has faced criticism from fellow Democrat Tom Steyer that he was ineligible to run for governor because he did not truly live in California. Earlier this year, a Sacramento County judge ruled against a similar claim made by a conservative filmmaker.
Times staff writer Melody Gutierrez in Sacramento contributed to this report.
For weeks, salacious talk swirled in campaign circles, ricocheted through email chains and was served up, like a buzzy side dish, over gossipy lunches from Sacramento to San Diego.
The talk revolved around Eric Swalwell, the 45-year-old congressman from the East Bay and one of the top Democratic contenders for California governor. The rumors involved allegations of inappropriate behavior with young staffers.
Pressed by rival camps, pursued by the political press corps, the claims were largely confined to unvetted corners of the internet until this week, when Swalwell’s campaign — knowing the whispers were getting louder — issued a public statement denying any wrongdoing.
The move was a prebuttal. Strategists figured it better to get out front of the chatter and address the online innuendo, even if it meant exposing the allegations to a much wider audience. The campaign’s statement was followed hours later by a categorical denial from the congressman.
“It’s false,” Swalwell told reporters Tuesday night in Sacramento. He said he never behaved inappropriately with female staff members or had a sexual relationship with any staffer or intern. There were no quiet legal settlements, he said. No hiding behind nondisclosure agreements.
Then, on Friday, the San Francisco Chronicle published a lengthy report — filled with highly specific and graphic details — quoting a woman who worked nearly two years for Swalwell, stating she had sexual encounters with him while he was her boss. Twice, she alleged, he sexually assaulted her when she was too intoxicated to consent.
The woman, who is 17 years younger than Swalwell, said the congressman began pursuing her within weeks of her hiring at age 21 to work in his district office in the East Bay Area. That was in 2019.
The woman said she largely kept quiet about Swalwell’s behavior out of fear she would suffer personal and professional consequences. She told the Chronicle she did not share her account with authorities because she was afraid they would not believe her. The newspaper said medical records show the woman obtained pregnancy and STD tests a week after one of the alleged assaults.
Swalwell issued another categorical denial.
“These allegations are false and come on the eve of an election against the front-runner for governor,” he said in a statement, somewhat overstating his status in the neck-and-neck gubernatorial race. “For nearly 20 years, I have served the public — as a prosecutor and a congressman and have always protected women.
“I will defend myself with the facts and where necessary bring legal action,” Swalwell said. “My focus in the coming days is to be with my wife and children and defend our decades of service against these lies.”
Even before the Chronicle published its article, once the privately bandied rumors were suddenly the open, you could almost hear the sound of a dam bursting. Swalwell’s competitors were quick to amplify the assertions, grappling for advantage in a race that remains stubbornly knotted up.
“Very, very troubling,” said fellow Democrat Katie Porter. “Deeply troubling,” echoed Betty Yee, another of the Democratic hopefuls.
A third Democrat running, Antonio Villaraigosa, was more inventive, accusing Swalwell “of skipping town” — he did not attend a Wednesday candidate forum in Sacramento — “as more and more women come forward with sexual harassment allegations.”
At that point no one with firsthand knowledge had come forward to contradict Swalwell’s denial of wrongdoing.
But with Friday’s article in the Chronicle, opponents escalated their attacks. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and state schools superintendent Tony Thurmond both called on Swalwell to quit the race.
One of his highest-profile backers, Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, withdrew his endorsement and expressed regret he had defended Swalwell on social media prior to the Chronicle’s account. Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles also withdrew his endorsement and urged Swalwell to abandon his candidacy.
Behind closed doors, other major Swalwell backers were reassessing their support.
It’s understandable — and probably necessary — for the congressman to retreat, as he suggested, to spent time with his wife and family.
But in light of the Chronicle’s report, and its damning allegations, he’ll need to do more than issue strongly worded statements on threatened legal action if he has any hopes of salvaging his gubernatorial candidacy and political career. (Swalwell gave up his congressional seat to run for governor.)
If the allegations are false, he needs to refute each and every detail in thorough, incontrovertible fashion. If they’re true, then what could Swalwell possibly have been thinking — not just forcing himself on his alleged victim, but running for governor knowing what he’d done? Was he convinced his behavior would never come to light? Did he believe that adamant denials would allow him to brazen his way through?
Swalwell has a lot of explaining to do — about his behavior, his disclaimers, his judgment.
And even though the June primary is still many weeks away, he has very little time to do so.
Mark Jones has been an on-air staple on ESPN since the first Bush administration — as in George H.W. Bush, who served from 1989 to 1992.
So, yeah, it’s been a long time.
And now, Jones says, “it’s time to move on.”
Jones’ final ESPN broadcast will be Sunday, when he will serve as the play-by-play announcer for the Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics game on the final day of the NBA’s regular season. It could very well be the last time the phrase “hotter than fish grease” is uttered on the network.
“It’s been a memorable journey these decades with the ABC/ESPN family, but I have decided that it’s time to move on,” Jones wrote in a statement posted Friday on Instagram. “From the day Dennis Swanson hired me in 1990 and working with the best producer in the business, Kim Belton, until today I will forever be grateful for the many friends and colleagues along the way.”
Jones, 64, started at ESPN in 1990. As a play-by-play announcer, he is best known for calling NBA games but he has also covered college football, men’s and women’s college basketball, the WNBA and UFL. On June 2, 2022, Jones, Mark Jackson and Lisa Salters were the first all-Black crew to call an NBA Finals game on TV.
In addition, Jones has hosted the “NBA Today” studio show and been an anchor and reporter on “SportsCenter.”
“Mark has made an enduring impact at ESPN since 1990, serving as a signature voice primarily within our NBA and college football coverage and across nearly all of our platforms,” ESPN said in a statement. “We’re grateful for Mark’s countless contributions and we wish him continued success.”
Separate from his work at ESPN, Jones has also been the primary TV play-by-play announcer for the Sacramento Kings since 2020.
Jones hasn’t indicated what he’ll be doing next, but he ended his announcement with a big prediction for the future — and threw in his signature phrase for good measure.
“As I move on to my next chapter I believe my best work is yet to come,” he wrote. “I’ll be out there cookin’ hotter than fish grease!”
