Hello, it's Thursday, Oct. 20, and before diving into the top news, we want to shout out a story by our colleague (and Essential Arts author) Carolina Miranda that opens with Kylie Jenner's private jet. It's a story about climate damage — but also jet flaunting, racket and "unbelievably bad" fumes.
Carolina told us how she came to write the story: "I was at a party and a friend of mine who lives in the San Fernando Valley happened to mention in passing that he had just moved out of his neighborhood — where he's been for a couple of decades — because he couldn't take the jet noise anymore. I started digging around online and naturally found all kinds of neighborhood groups who were angry about the airport for one reason or another: noise, pollution, flight paths that are sending jets along lower elevations. It was hard to know what to make of any of it. So, I went and spent a day hanging around the airport's perimeter so I could get a sense of what was at stake. I was stunned by the volume of private jet traffic — not to mention the smells." Read the story: "Kylie Jenner's private jet is bad for the climate. It's far worse for the residents of Van Nuys."
TOP STORIES
Kevin De León: 'No, I will not resign'
The beleaguered L.A. Councilmember said in a television interview he was not resigning, according to a partial transcript of the interview released by Noticiero Univision.
"I'm so sorry. I am extremely sorry, and that is why I apologize to all my people, to my entire community, for the damage caused by the painful words that were carried out that day last year," De León said in the interview with Noticiero Univision anchor León Krauze, according to the transcript. The interview was conducted at Univision 34's studio in Los Angeles.
"No, I will not resign, because there is a lot of work ahead," De León said, citing the homelessness crisis. He also said he was "sorry for the damage, for the wounds that exist today in our communities."
More politics
- Column: De León insists he won't quit. But that probably won't salvage his political career or bode well for his future, writes Mark Z. Barabak.
- Robert Luna, the former Long Beach police chief, is running to unseat L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, promising calm, not bluster, and reform, not scandal.
- In California election ads, Democrats running for Congress spotlight abortion access after Roe vs. Wade's overturn; Republicans focus on inflation.
- A record number of people voted by mail in 2020. Two years later, access to mail voting looks radically different from state to state, mirroring a broad partisan divide in voting policies.
- Navigating local power structures is complicated. We'll help you understand how the government handles the issues that matter to you, and how to get stuff done in your neighborhood and beyond.
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Study: California wildfires have offset 18 years of greenhouse gas reductions
A decades-long effort by Californians to cut their emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide may have been erased by a single devastating year of wildfires, according to UCLA researchers.
The state's record-breaking 2020 fire season spewed twice the tonnage of greenhouse gases as the total amount of CO2 reductions made since 2003, according to a recent study.
Researchers estimated that about 127 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent were released by the fires, compared with about 65 million metric tons of reductions achieved in the previous 18 years.
Advocates fear people don't know that L.A. County gives shots at home
The newest COVID-19 booster shot has been available for weeks at pharmacies, clinics and pop-up sites. But for some, making such a trip would be a mammoth undertaking.
More than 7,400 people had been vaccinated through the Los Angeles County program targeting homebound residents by late September, according to county data. The majority of them were seniors, although the L.A. County Department of Public Health has also brought vaccines to younger people who cannot easily leave their homes because of medical conditions.
But physicians and advocates concerned about homebound patients fear that L.A. County has not reached many others who could be at high risk from COVID-19.
More top coronavirus headlines
- U.S. regulators authorized a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax.
Stay up to date on variant developments, case counts and vaccine news with Coronavirus Today.
How Filipino American culture and Catholicism affect mental health
For many Filipino Americans, their cultural and religious identities are closely intertwined. Surveys have shown throughout the years that more than 80% of Filipinos in the Philippines are Catholic. Meanwhile, 65% of Filipino Americans identify as Catholic, according to a 2012 Pew Research report.
Catholicism was mentioned often in discussions and interviews with people who spoke with The Times for its Filipino American mental health series. The majority of participants in focus groups for the series identified as second-generation, born to immigrant parents. A common experience that emerged was guilt and shame associated with their faith and culture. Yet many also said that their faith was instrumental in assuaging difficulties they encountered in their lives.
An anti-racism movement in Mexico protests discrimination by "whitexicans"
For the vast stretch of Mexico's modern history, many denied that racism existed there at all. They embraced the nation's foundational myth that its people are mestizos, a single blended race of Indigenous and Spanish blood, insisting that there could be no prejudice if all Mexicans are the same.
But a growing social movement is challenging that thinking, thrusting discussions of discrimination based on skin color to the fore.
Using Twitter and TikTok, they've called out companies and celebrities for discrimination and have popularized a new term — whitexican — to refer to the nation's wealthy, light-skinned elite.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
CALIFORNIA
A family begged social workers to save a Merced 8-year-old. She was found dead. For more than a year, Sophia Mason's aunt, grandmother, teachers and doctors reported signs the girl was being abused and neglected. The case has sent shockwaves through the San Francisco Bay Area and sparked calls for reforms in Child Protective Services.
A suspect in the killing of rapper PnB Rock was extradited to L.A. to face a murder charge. Freddie Lee Trone, 40, was arrested Sept. 29 in Las Vegas and booked into L.A. County jail on Tuesday. He was wanted in connection with the death of rapper PnB Rock, who was gunned down last month at Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles in South L.A.
L.A. Unified enrollment continues to fall, but the drop is cushioned. District officials said the decline was less severe than they had expected. The enrollment numbers were helped by a substantial expansion of transitional kindergarten spots because of an increase in state funding that is essentially creating a new grade over the next few years.
The disruption of passenger rail service to San Diego is likely to continue. Initially, transit officials said service would be restored in November, but work to protect the railroad tracks on an unstable slope in San Clemente is now expected to stop all passenger train service between San Diego and Orange counties through at least mid-December.
California is trying to house the homeless through a health insurance program. It worked for this man. After spending his life in and out of prison, Donald Winston landed his first apartment, thanks to a new California health insurance initiative. The idea of the initiative is to create a system over the next five years that goes beyond traditional medical care to cover other aspects of people's lives, including some housing and food needs.
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NATION-WORLD
Anna May Wong will be the first Asian American featured on U.S. currency. Wong rose to Hollywood stardom in the 1920s, breaking barriers while facing entrenched discrimination as America's first movie star of Asian descent. She will be the fifth woman this year honored in the American Women Quarters Program.
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss resigns. Truss resigned Thursday — bowing to pressure after a tumultuous six-week term in which her policies triggered turmoil in financial markets and a rebellion in her party obliterated her authority.
Vladimir Putin declared martial law in annexed regions of Ukraine. The Russian president didn't immediately spell out the steps that would be taken under martial law but said his order was effective starting Thursday. His decree gives law enforcement agencies three days to submit specific proposals and orders the creation of territorial defense forces in the four annexed regions.
An athlete who competed without a hijab was cheered after landing in Tehran. Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi returned to Tehran early Wednesday after competing in South Korea without wearing a headscarf, an act widely seen as support for anti-government demonstrators as fears grew about her fate. The future Rekabi faces after returning home remains unclear.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
Style and great supporting players make "Black Adam" forgettably entertaining. The newest entry in the DC Extended Universe, starring Dwayne Johnson, has been hyped as a "new phase" for the franchise. Although the film feels cobbled together out of spare parts of other superhero movies, director Jaume Collet-Serra manages to hold it all together, writes reviewer Katie Walsh.
Two oddball comedies are back on TV after a long hiatus. Do they still work? Television critic Robert Lloyd takes a look at "Inside Amy Schumer," returning after six years, and IFC's "Documentary Now!" which has a new season after 3½ years on hiatus. Neither season replicates earlier ones, but they do offer some fresh elements.
Why are TV's two big fantasy shows so epically humorless? Both "Rings of Power" and "House of the Dragon" lack the moments of levity that kept Peter Jackson's film series "The Lord of the Rings" and HBO's "Game of Thrones" from becoming mere CG-rrific adventure plods, writes columnist Mary McNamara.
Taylor Swift is prolific, but how does she compare to music's other prolific artists? On Friday, the pop superstar is set to release her new album, "Midnights" — the fourth set of new songs she's dropped since 2019. Swift's combination of prolificacy and commercial success is exceedingly rare but not unheard of. Just look at the '70s.
BUSINESS
Movie and commercial shoots saw a big drop as a surge in production receded. Filming on the streets of Los Angeles has slowed down after a rush to resume production in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most notable declines were seen in feature films and commercials, with activity running well below five-year averages, according to a report.
Eleven more crash deaths were linked to automated-tech vehicles. Newly released government data looked at a four-month period this year and showed an alarming pattern of incidents linked to the technology. Ten of the deaths involved vehicles made by Tesla, although it was unclear whether the technology itself was at fault or driver error might have been responsible.
Meanwhile, Waymo said it's bringing robotaxis to L.A. The company, owned by Google parent Alphabet, said it planned to make L.A. its next market. But Waymo offered scant information about its plans, including when the commercial service will begin and how extensive the service's coverage will be.
OPINION
Kanye West's life and art are one. You don't have to keep watching. For the better part of two weeks, he took that understanding and his platform to peddle dangerous antisemitic comments and harmful anti-Black sentiment and to resuscitate debunked conspiracy theories about the murder of George Floyd. It seems no one wants Ye on their platform, and yet he is everywhere. He knows what works. So ask yourself: Is Ye still working for you now?
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SPORTS
Who is to blame for the Dodgers' October failure? How about the players? The Dodgers' historic collapse against the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series last weekend has led to enough finger-pointing to occupy all the gloves they won't need until February. Everyone has been blamed but the Dodgers players themselves. Honestly, this one is on them, writes Times columnist Bill Plaschke.
UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet's biggest inspiration is his sister Bella. Charbonnet shares a special bond with Bella, who was born with Williams syndrome, a rare developmental disorder that presents cognitive challenges with math and abstract concepts, among other issues. She helped inspire him to transfer from Michigan to UCLA.
Lakers-Warriors takeaways: LeBron James explained why the Lakers can't make three-pointers. "I mean, to be completely honest, we're not a team that's constructed of great shooting. And that's just what the truth of the matter is," said James, who missed seven of 10 three-pointers.
ONLY IN L.A.
Thank You Coffee's KSL riffs on pumpkin spice by incorporating fresh kabocha into its latte in the Anaheim location. (Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
How to find pumpkin spice that's anything but basic. Even if the weather is still warm, the blend of nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and other warming spices has a way of heralding fall, especially when mixed with espresso. Starbucks has been in the game for nearly two decades, but it's not the only place to get your autumnal latte fix.
From Anaheim to Arleta, mom-and-pop cafes are building on the PSL as lattes and even horchata — some requiring juicing fresh pumpkins, simmering small batches of kabocha squash or hand-grinding spices with a mortar and pestle. Here are six spots to find local, small-batch variations.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
April 9, 1962: Greer Garson accepts the best actress award for Sophia Loren from Burt Lancaster at the Oscars. (Los Angeles Times)
Twenty-eight years ago today, on Oct. 20, 1994, Burt Lancaster died at his home in Los Angeles. Lancaster was not only an actor but also a gymnast — and a powerful presence over the course of his acting career. The Times wrote in his 1994 obituary: "Lancaster took no courses and played no second leads, but was a bona fide star from his first screen appearance in 1946 until a few years before his death."
Longtime Times film critic Kenneth Turan wrote in 2013 that Lancaster was the first movie star he ever met.
It was 1971 and Kenny was a young reporter for the Washington Post, covering the Cannes Film Festival on his own dime. He was invited to a lunch the actor was giving for journalists at the legendary Hotel du Cap, situated above rocks that jut into the sea. He arrived only to be told that the actor would be late. Lancaster's publicist "pointed out the room's enormous glass windows, where I turned my head just in time to see, as if on cue, the spectacularly fit 58-year-old actor elegantly dive off those rocks and into the Mediterranean for a pre-luncheon swim." Minutes later, Lancaster appeared at the lunch wearing a bathrobe over his swim trunks, towel around his neck. "Clearly, there was no need to dress just to meet journalists."
Times staff writer Amy Hubbard contributed to this report.
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