The feud between Elon Musk and rival Sam Altman took a new turn on Friday when OpenAI’s board rejected a $97.4-billion offer by an investment consortium led by the Tesla chief executive. “OpenAI is not for sale, and the board has unanimously rejected Mr. Musk’s latest attempt to disrupt his…

Minutes into the first fight scene of the new “Captain America: Brave New World,” a foe quips that the Captain America he dreamed of killing was bigger than current mantle-holder Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie. The legacy of that patriotic moniker looms large over the film’s narrative — and…

After filing for bankruptcy protection twice in less than a year, the crafts and fabric retailer Joann is moving to close around 500 stores across the country, including nearly 60 in California. Joann announced Wednesday that it is seeking the go-ahead from a bankruptcy judge to carry out the closures…

For the better part of a century, generations of the Nakai family have kept the shelves at Hawthorne Nursery stocked with seeds and fertilizers, the lot outside full of fruit trees, potted plants and succulents. The job, for the past many years, has fallen to Kei Nakai, 70, and his…

Amazon is gearing up for a hiring spree in the Inland Empire. The e-commerce giant plans to hire more than 2,000 full-time and part-time workers to staff two new facilities in Fontana and Jurupa. The new facilities, called “inbound cross docks,” launched operations earlier this month and are designed to…

Last July, San Diego resident Trisha Malone applied for a disability exemption at a booth just outside the Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks. The Disability Access Service, or DAS, pass she wanted would have allowed her to avoid waiting in time-consuming lines for popular Disney rides. Malone met with…

The California FAIR Plan received approval Tuesday from the state’s insurance commissioner to assess its member companies $1 billion to help pay its Los Angeles fire claims — with consumers possibly on the hook for nearly half of that under a new Department of Insurance policy. The plan said in…

As Los Angeles grapples with the fallout of last month’s destructive wildfires, one question looms: What does it mean for Southern California Edison, the giant utility that has been accused of sparking a blaze? The answer will hinge on whether state agencies determine Edison’s equipment ignited the deadly Eaton fire…

Sonos, which pioneered affordable home speaker systems, announced this week it is cutting 200 jobs in an attempt to restructure following mismanagement and financial losses that have roiled the Santa Barbara company. The layoffs, which represent about 12% of Sonos’ workforce, come after months of trouble, including a disastrous relaunch…

BODEGA BAY, Calif. — It was a calm January morning, the waters off Bodega Bay unusually smooth, but crab fisherman Dick Ogg couldn’t shake a grim feeling that the day wouldn’t go his way. The Dungeness crab season had opened just a few weeks earlier — two months behind schedule — and…

At least 22 parcels totaling more than 100 acres in and around Whispering Pines area within Joshua Tree National Park have changed hands since 2021, spurring concerns among neighbors over potential development. Here’s what public records and other sources reveal about the owners, who have declined to discuss their plans…

Dear Liz: I was married for 33 years and divorced 4 years ago. We have reconciled and are now back living together as a couple, but have not remarried. I’m 68, and my former spouse is 63. Neither of us is drawing Social Security, but we are now considering applying.…

WASHINGTON — U.S. job growth slowed at the start of the year, the government said Friday, as business services, manufacturing and other major industries held back on adding jobs amid increased uncertainty about the economy. The Los Angeles-area wildfires, which began Jan. 7, didn’t have a material effect on the nation’s employment…

After going dark in the early days of the pandemic, a former ArcLight theater in El Segundo will reopen with a new owner and name Monday as a luxury cinema intended to pry movie viewers off their couches at home. After $10 million in upgrades, CinemaWest Beach Cities will have…

It’s probably too soon to claim Elon Musk has babies’ blood on his hands for effectively shuttering America’s most consequential foreign aid agency. But trust me: He will. On Musk’s orders, the work of the United States Agency for International Development has come to a screeching halt. Thousands of its…

It was easy to think that the diatribe about school transgender policies Donald Trump voiced during his presidential campaign was his most “deranged and despicable,” as I described it at the time. Do you remember? At an event with Moms for Liberty, the far-right gang of book-banners, Trump said the…

Quiksilver, Billabong and Volcom brick-and-mortar stores, known for their beach and outdoor apparel, are closing, their parent company said. Costa Mesa-based Liberated Brands said in a bankruptcy filing this week it would shut down 124 locations. The company operates 35 stories in California, including locations in Camarillo, Commerce and Northridge.…

Here’s a phrase — three words, only eight syllables in all — that’s going to gain paramount importance in the conduct of government policy by Donald Trump over the next few years. The phrase is “arbitrary and capricious.” It’s a guidepost for federal judges hearing challenges to agency rulemakings —…

Google is the latest tech company rethinking how it approaches diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace as businesses face more political pressure from President Trump to roll back these initiatives. The search giant will no longer set hiring goals that are tied to improving representation in the company. The…

Demand for new electric vehicles has flattened in California, new sales figures show, raising questions as to whether automobile manufacturers can meet ambitious state mandates for zero-emission vehicle sales. Aside from Tesla, which sells only EVs, no other major manufacturer will meet the state’s 35% threshold for zero-emission vehicles in…

Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers posted some well-chosen words Saturday about Donald Trump’s bewildering and pointless tariff war, which had been launched earlier that day. In a string of tweets he called the 25% tariffs Trump proposed on goods from Canada and Mexico “inexplicable and dangerous,” joined the near-unanimous…

The blackened remains of the neighborhood pet store next to a bank untouched by the fires. A burned-down museum of bunny memorabilia separated by red caution tape from a strip mall, all of its businesses still standing. A longtime bike shop, reduced to a heap of twisted metal, steps away…

State Farm General, California’s largest home insurer, asked state officials for an emergency rate hike averaging 22% Monday, saying the Los Angeles County fires have put the company in dire financial straits. The insurer, a subsidiary of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. of Bloomington, Ill., said the company has…

Before Donald Trump kicked off his second term as president, Meta Platforms Chief Executive and founder Mark Zuckerberg took another big swing at hitting reset. In a nearly three-hour conversation with Joe Rogan, a hugely popular podcaster and brash Trump supporter, Zuckerberg talked about the social media giant’s decision to…

With thousands of houses and apartments lost to wildfires in an already tight housing market, landlords in downtown Los Angeles are trying to woo displaced fire victims to a more urban setting far from the burn zones. A social media campaign has been launched by members of the Historic Core…

It seemed like the death knell. The state of California failed to get required federal permission from the Biden administration — the Biden administration — to enforce new regulations that would phase out sales of diesel big-rig trucks to fleet operators at the state’s seaports, forcing them to buy zero-emission…

WASHINGTON — President Trump slapped sweeping tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China on Saturday, sending shock waves through the global supply chain and sparking fears of a disruptive trade war that could dramatically raise costs for U.S. consumers. Trump signed executive orders placing duties of 25% on imports from Mexico…

As Mario Ramos pushes his ice cream cart through the city, worries course through his mind. A street vendor in Los Angeles for 20 years, Ramos now carries with him a small red card outlining his constitutional rights in case immigration officers approach him as part of President Trump’s vow…

A Malibu homeowner is suing travel website Tripadvisor and two subsidiaries along with a Venice woman, alleging they were responsible for burning down her property in 2021, ultimately resulting in the death of a San Diego area college student. Erin Hughes, owner of a Rambla Pacifico Street mansion that burned…

A new online tool that tracks insurance payouts stemming from wildfires that devastated parts of Los Angeles County shows more than $4 billion has been paid so far, largely to replace lost personal items and cover living expenses. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced the new tracker Thursday. Lara’s office…

The California Public Utilities Commission voted Thursday to allow Southern California Edison to raise electric rates to cover payments it made to victims of the devastating 2017 Thomas wildfire. Investigators found that the utility’s equipment sparked the blaze, one of the largest in California history. The fire’s devastation also helped…

The company Big Ass Fans has been slapped with almost half a million dollars in penalties for false advertising about their air purifying devices, including claims that their pricey fans can eliminate 99.99% of the virus that causes COVID-19. On Wednesday, 11 district attorneys in California announced a joint settlement…

Indie studio Neon has acquired worldwide rights to the horror film “Together” at the Sundance Film Festival, marking the first big deal at what has been a muted gathering so far. Neon acquired the film for $15 million to $17 million, according to two sources close to the matter who…

It wasn’t a stretch to predict that the strict abortion bans in states such as Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas would have demographic effects — driving residents out of those states and reducing migration from abortion-protective states. New research has validated that prediction and put meat on its bones. Most…

The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling nearly $2.4 million to customers of fast fashion retailer Fashion Nova. The payments come as part of a settlement with the retailer after federal regulators alleged in 2022 that the company blocked negative reviews from being posted on its website. Fashion Nova,…

Benjamin Franklin was wrong, or at least premature, when he wrote in 1789 that nothing is certain in this world “except death and taxes.” Were he writing today, he would have to add to this sacred duo another entry — that it’s also certain that the theory that COVID-19 originated…

Major U.S. tech stocks, including Nvidia, Oracle and Broadcom, plummeted Monday after Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek unveiled a new system that it says can compete against OpenAI’s ChatGPT model at a much lower cost. The stock of chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom plunged about 17%, while the stock price for…

Residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the Los Angeles firestorms are being offered mortgage relief by nearly 270 state-chartered banks, credit unions and other financial companies, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday. The announcement follows a decision by five major banks last week to offer mortgage relief to the…

Hundreds of workers at a Las Vegas hotel and casino who have been on strike for more than two months will go back to work after agreeing to a new contract Wednesday. The Culinary Workers Union and an affiliated bartenders union, which together represented about 700 striking workers at Virgin…

Some policyholders who lost their homes in the Los Angeles fires are not getting claims advances that are due to them, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara alleged Thursday. In response, Lara issued a bulletin reminding all California insurers that the law requires victims who have suffered total losses to get advance…

As raging wildfires continue to torment Southern California, estimates of the total economic loss have ballooned to more than $250 billion, making it one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history. Early estimates by AccuWeather and JP Morgan put the damage in the $50-billion range, but the expected…

Shel Singh has gone all-in on electric vehicles in recent years. The 36-year-old business owner currently drives an electric Porsche. Before that, it was a Tesla. But with President Trump working aggressively to reverse policies enacted by former President Biden intended to bolster the EV market and phase out gas-powered…

Spirit Airlines customers could be removed from flights for dressing “inadequately” or having offensive tattoos, the airline announced this week in an update to its code of conduct. The low-cost U.S. carrier explicitly banned see-through clothing, bare feet and exposed private parts, as well as clothing or body art that…

Over his seven years on the federal bench, James C. Ho has acquired a reputation as one of the most conservative members of a notably conservative court, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. So it’s proper to take heed of Ho’s position on a temporarily blocked issue that Donald…

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger received a $41.1-million pay package last year, according to a filing Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That figure is about 30% higher than his 2023 compensation, which totaled $31.6 million. Iger’s pay was a mix of cash bonus, stocks and…

The shimmering office towers of the downtown Los Angeles skyline conceal a hard truth — much of the space is empty. In the years since the pandemic, which upended workplace norms and evaporated demand for office space, landlords downtown have watched in frustration as the value of their office buildings…

President Trump on Tuesday announced that OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank are partnering on a venture to direct more than $100 billion toward computing infrastructure that will power artificial intelligence in the United States. “It will ensure the future of technology,” Trump said at a news conference at the White House,…

SANTA ROSA, Calif.  —  The sky above their newly built homes was clear, and the ground beneath their feet reassuringly soggy from recent winter rains. But as residents in the Coffey Park neighborhood made their way to a community gathering on a recent evening — passing one yard after another…

Netflix gained a record number of subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2024, further solidifying its dominance in the streaming market and capping the company’s biggest year yet. The company added 19 million paid subscribers, bringing its total base to 302 million customers globally in the fourth quarter, topping even…

Five major banks are offering homeowners up to three months of mortgage payment relief in areas devastated by the Southern California wildfires, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday. In a statement, Newsom’s office said the banks will have a streamlined process that will not require submitting forms or documents and when…

Travelers flying into Los Angeles last weekend were greeted by an apocalyptic sight: billowing clouds of smoke and the red-orange glow of flames against the glittering expanse of city lights. The stark panorama, and shocking, ubiquitous video of the wildfires, were at sharp odds with images of sun-kissed beaches and…

Poor Donald Trump. Twice elected president only to have to clean up the economic messes left to him by Democrats. In 2016, he groused about inheriting “a disaster” from Barack Obama. On Thursday, just four days before his second inauguration, he sent out a fundraising email claiming for the gazillionth…

At the stroke of midnight on Sunday, TikTok users in the United States were momentarily silenced, after the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a new law, which requires the social media app’s Chinese owner to sell off TikTok’s U.S. business or face a nationwide ban. Within hours of the shutdown however,…

Dear Liz: I’m 80 years old and my wife is 76. Our only retirement income is Social Security, and we have less than $50,000 in savings. We have about $600,000 equity in our house, which we bought in 1971. We presently have property taxes deferred, at 6% interest. The house…

The Supreme Court has paved the way for TikTok to be banned in the U.S. on Sunday. The high court on Friday unanimously upheld a new law that requires the social media app’s Chinese owner to sell off TikTok’s U.S. business or face a nationwide ban. “Given just a handful…

The California FAIR Plan Assn., the state’s property insurer of last resort, was born of smoldering ashes — not of a wildfire, but of one of the worst urban disturbances in U.S. history. The Watts riots in 1965 damaged or destroyed more than 600 buildings, causing insurers to flee and…

Federal officials announced Friday that they have indicted former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao on bribery charges, along with her longtime boyfriend and a father-son team who run the company on contract for the city’s recycling services, alleging a sprawling corruption scheme involving cash payments and campaign mailers in exchange for…

For years, the Food and Drug Administration has taken up arms against clinics hawking unproven and ineffective stem cell treatments to desperate patients looking for cures of intractable diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and even erectile dysfunction. As the FDA has repeatedly cautioned, there is no…

President-elect Donald Trump has named actors Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson as “special ambassadors” to Hollywood. Trump said the three actors will be his “special envoys” and report back to him with on-the-ground knowledge of the industry to bring Hollywood back “bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”…

Southern California’s catastrophic fires have rocked the stock of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, as accusations and lawsuits about the utility’s potential role in starting the fires mount. Shares of Edison International closed up 5% at $61.30 on Wednesday after plunging 23% this month, making it…

State Farm said Wednesday that it will offer renewals to residential policyholders affected by the Los Angeles County fires that it had previously planned to drop. The decision applies to policies held by homeowners, owners of rental dwellings and residential community associations, which include condominium associations. The figure includes roughly…

As wildfires continue to burn around Southern California, thousands of business owners, homeowners and renters are confronting the daunting challenge of rebuilding from the ashes. For some number of them, the road ahead will be all the more difficult because they didn’t have any or enough insurance to cover their…

TAIPEI, Taiwan —  TikTok users concerned about a looming ban are finding solace in a strange place. Days ahead of a Supreme Court decision that could determine whether the popular short-video app shuts down starting Sunday, a number of users appear to be turning to an app called RedNote — more…

During a disaster, getting to safety is the top priority. But for many Angelenos displaced by the devastating wildfires raging across Los Angeles County, questions loom about what comes next. The fires have destroyed thousands of structures and forced roughly 92,000 residents to evacuate. With some homes sitting empty and…

Sonos Chief Executive Patrick Spence is stepping down and leaving the company’s board in a shake-up that comes as the wireless speaker maker tries to win back the trust of its customers. Last year, the Santa Barbara-based company botched the overhaul of its phone app that customers use to control…

Dear Liz: I have sold my family home recently after almost 50 years. I had done lots of improvements throughout those years. Due to a fire 15 years ago, all the documentation for these improvements has been destroyed. How do I document the improvements for the capital gains tax calculation?…

Last year, Francis Bischetti said he learned that the annual cost of the homeowners policy he buys from Farmers Insurance for his Pacific Palisades home was going to soar from $4,500 to $18,000 — an amount he could not possibly afford. Neither could he get onto California FAIR Plan, which…

When Brigitte Tran arrived Wednesday morning at the Rodeo Drive boutique where she works as a sales associate, she was on edge. Smoke from multiple wildfires raging across Los Angeles County billowed overhead. The luxury shopping corridor usually bustling with tourists appeared a ghost town. Tran’s co-worker texted their boss…

Four years ago, several of California’s most influential tech titans determined that then-President Trump was such a threat to democracy they barred him from posting on their social media platforms. “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too…

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has issued a moratorium that bars insurers from canceling or non-renewing home policies in the Pacific Palisades and the San Gabriel Valley’s Eaton fire zones. The moratorium, issued Thursday, protects homeowners living within the perimeter of the fire and in adjoining ZIP codes from losing…

The downtown Los Angeles Macy’s department store, situated on 7th Street and a cornerstone of retail in the area, will shut down as the company prepares to close 150 underperforming locations in an effort to revamp and modernize its business. The iconic retail center announced this week the first 66…

As the market for documentaries and other content slowed and work dried up in Hollywood, producer Kourtney Gleason was already worried about making the mortgage payments on the home she bought last year with her boyfriend. Now, as raging fires have halted film and TV production in Southern California and…

When raging wildfires tore through Pacific Palisades and other local communities this week, they not only left a path of destruction reminiscent of a World War II bombing campaign, but threatened to deepen a crisis that has already left hundreds of thousands of Californians struggling to find and keep affordable…

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued new regulations barring medical debts from American credit reports, enacting a major new consumer protection just days before President Biden is set to leave office. The rules ban credit agencies from including medical debts on consumers’ credit reports and prohibit lenders from…

As winds whip through Southern California, scores of businesses — from local restaurants and community institutions to film and television productions and a major theme park — have been affected by the fires burning in the region. The Palisades fire has burned more than 15,000 acres, destroying numerous homes and…

Facebook parent company Meta Platforms said Tuesday that it’s ending a third-party fact-checking program in the United States, a controversial move that will change how the social media giant combats misinformation. Instead, Meta said it would lean on its users to write “community notes” on potentially misleading posts. Meta’s move…

With a new host and a relatively politics-free show, this year’s Golden Globe Awards drew 9.3 million viewers, a slight decline compared to 2024, according to Nielsen data. Viewership for the award show, which was broadcast live Sunday on CBS and Paramount+, fell 2% from the prior year’s 9.4 million…

Is reliable Wi-Fi at 30,000 feet on the horizon? United Airlines announced over the weekend that it will outfit much of its fleet with Wi-Fi provided by Elon Musk’s Starlink company and plans to fly its first commercial flight with the service this spring. The service, which will be offered…

A Los Angeles man said he nearly missed his flight home after getting trapped on his way to the airport in a Waymo self-driving vehicle that wouldn’t stop making circles in a parking lot. L.A. tech entrepreneur Mike Johns posted a video three weeks ago on LinkedIn of his call…

Director Brett Ratner is back behind the camera again for a new documentary on Melania Trump, his first film since facing allegations of sexual harassment raised nearly a decade ago by several female associates, including actor Olivia Munn. The documentary, which has been licensed by Amazon Prime Video, will be…

California lawmakers, by and large, are a labor-friendly bunch and, as in past years, they passed a host of new workplace protections that took effect when the new year struck. Instead of breaking new ground, many of the changes represent expansions of existing protections, such as family leave and enforcement…

Both vehicles used in two New Year’s Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas were rented through Turo, a car-sharing app. The attacks thrust the San Francisco company that created the app, which relies on a model similar to Airbnb to enable users to rent cars directly from their…

A Southern California homeowner is suing Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. for declining to renew her longstanding insurance policy, accusing the company of dropping her for bogus reasons. In the proposed class-action lawsuit, Maria Badin said she had been a Liberty Mutual customer since 1993, when she bought her home in…

In the cutthroat airline industry, few things can boost a company’s reputation more than getting passengers to their destinations on time. Now, Mexico’s largest airline, Aeromexico, can boast that last year it was the best in the world when it comes to timeliness, according to the results of an annual…

Chances are slim that the dual strikes at Starbucks stores and Amazon warehouses around the country disrupted your holiday season. By most accounts, packages arrived on schedule, while consumers jonesing for Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espressos almost certainly managed to find sugar and succor elsewhere. Still, the issues…

California business groups have sued to stop the state from implementing a new law that prohibits companies from ordering workers to attend meetings on unionization and other matters. The law, Senate Bill 399, went into effect Jan. 1 and makes it illegal to penalize an employee who refuses to attend…

Apple agreed to pay $95 million in cash to settle a lawsuit that alleges the tech giant recorded private conversations from people who used its voice assistant Siri without their consent. The iPhone maker was sued in 2019 for allegedly violating users’ privacy after the Guardian reported that contractors hired…

WASHINGTON —  Of all the rich and powerful people cozying up to President-elect Donald Trump, few have rushed to Mar-a-Lago faster than the crowned heads of big tech, including California’s own chiefs of Google and Meta. And few have a stronger motive to curry Trump’s favor than Silicon Valley: The fate…

It has long been clear that relying on corporate leaders to stand fast for social and economic progress is a mug’s game. Big business talks the talk, of course. As I’ve written before, after the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, many corporate leaders pledged publicly to oppose the assaults from…

President-elect Donald Trump has made clear his intent to supercharge his “America First” approach to foreign policy in his second term — and Mexico looks set to be at the tip of the spear. While many of Trump’s predecessors have also followed a “realist” strategy — that is, one in…

Trader Joe’s, the popular grocery chain known for its unique original products and affordable prices, will open three new stores in Los Angeles next year. According to the company’s website, the new locations will be in Northridge, Sherman Oaks and Tarzana in the San Fernando Valley. The website lists the…

The state released another regulation Monday aimed at easing California’s home insurance crisis that will allow insurers to charge homeowners higher premiums to protect themselves from catastrophic wildfire claims. The rule is the last in a package of home insurance reforms spearheaded by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and it will…

When Riot Games first decided to make a TV show inspired by its hit game “League of Legends,” the video game publisher took the unusual step of developing and financing the project on its own. While most of its peers license titles to Hollywood studios that have experience making TV,…

It wasn’t good, but it could’ve been a lot worse. Given the lingering effects of last year’s Hollywood labor strikes, the relative lack of big movies and a dismal first half of the year at the box office, the film industry is breathing a collective sigh of relief as 2024…

Dear Liz: I am out of work and taking a pause on my job search. While I have plenty of savings in a diversified portfolio, enough to last many years if needed, my adjusted gross income is small (mostly capital gains from gradual sales of assets). I think I qualify…

WASHINGTON —  President-elect Donald Trump is telling the Supreme Court that he can make a deal that will resolve the national security dispute over TikTok and preserve the video site for 170 million Americans. All the justices need to do, he says, is to stand aside and suspend a pending law…

Owners of San Pedro Fish Market and Restaurant, a top-grossing restaurant that once sprawled across a wooden pier in the Port of Los Angeles, have signed a 49-year lease to rebuild at their historic waterfront home. For decades the market was part of Ports O’Call, a tourist attraction that was…

After renovations forced Monique Gomez to move out of her Westside apartment, the tenant of four years was surprised to learn she would have to find another company to sell her renters coverage. Her insurer, State Farm General, stopped writing new property policies last year, and she was told that…

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s constant reminders that California’s economy ”leads the nation” as well as being a model for social justice are delusional. To be sure, California has a huge GDP, paced largely by high real estate prices and the stock value of a handful of tech companies, but it is…

When Tony Vinciquerra arrived at Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2017, it was far from business as usual. The Culver City studio was still reeling from a 2014 cyber attack that exposed employees’ personal information and revealed internal communications, damaging its reputation and leading to major financial losses. Its film studio…

The ride-hailing company Lyft accused San Francisco of overcharging it $100 million in taxes over the last five years in a lawsuit filed last week. Lyft, which is headquartered in the city, said in the complaint that the fees paid by riders to drivers are not part of the company’s…

The Container Store Group Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid steep losses, slumping sales and increased competition. Business in its stores and online will continue as usual while it restructures, the Texas-based home goods, storage and custom closets chain said late Sunday. Customer deposits for in-home services…

The “silly season” of news coverage used to refer to the dog days of summer, when there was so little of importance happening that newspapers and cable channels filled the vacuum with fluff. Not this year. Starting in October and gaining intensity through the season, Americans have found themselves awash…

A rolling strike of Starbucks baristas has grown since kicking off Friday to include about 300 of the coffee giant’s shops across the U.S., according to the union organizing the work stoppage. The strike, set to end after Christmas Eve, seeks to pressure Starbucks during the busy holiday season to…

It’s been more than three years since college student Justin Lin binge-watched the first season of Netflix’s “Squid Game” in two days. Now, he can’t wait until Season 2 launches on Netflix on Dec. 26. Lin was so excited that he drove from the San Gabriel Valley to Hollywood to…

Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America are being sued by the embattled Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over alleged unchecked fraud on the Zelle payment app — setting up a legal showdown that the incoming Trump administration could quash as soon as next month. The three financial institutions,…

BANGKOK —  Japanese car factories in Thailand — which for decades has been the premiere hub of auto manufacturing in Southeast Asia — are shutting down or scaling back. Subaru said it will stop producing cars at its plant this month. Suzuki plans to cease operations by the end of 2025.…

Everyone’s favorite Christmas gift giver, the Internal Revenue Service, has announced that it will be doling out more than $2 billion in checks to Americans this month as part of its effort to make sure everyone received their stimulus payments from 2021. The federal tax agency has announced that an…

This country has always had a hypocritical relationship with the undocumented workers who keep America’s agricultural, construction and hospitality industries humming. On one hand, we simply cannot function without them. On the other, xenophobic politicians whip up fear and mistrust of workers on the lowest economic rungs when it serves…

As parents rush into malls for the final days of Christmas shopping, many will be armed with wishlists full of beauty products for their children. Skin care is a fast-growing phenomenon among Gen Alpha, typically defined as those born from 2010 and on. Dubbed “Sephora kids,” the tweens and teens…

After the government pushed for the breakup of Google, accusing it of business practices that violate antitrust laws, the Mountain View, Calif., tech giant proposed its own solutions on Friday — to restructure its business contracts instead. “Regulating a fast-changing industry like search with an invasive decree like the one…

Party City, the party and costume supply chain with more than 70 locations in California including several in Los Angeles, is shutting down operations immediately and laying off its employees. In an online meeting Friday viewed by Bloomberg News, Party City Chief Executive Barry Litwin told corporate employees that it…

In the midst of holiday shopping and travel, Colorado resident Tom Pipes didn’t want to spend extra money on a plane ticket. He flew from Colorado to Los Angeles on Southwest, the grandfather of budget-friendly airlines. “If there was a first-class option, I wouldn’t use it,” Pipes said this week…

Workers at several Amazon warehouses across the country went on strike early Thursday morning, part of an effort by the Teamsters union to pressure the e-commerce giant to recognize burgeoning unions at its facilities. The work stoppage comes in the final stretch of the holiday shopping crush when customers are…

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear TikTok’s challenge to a law that would ban the popular social media app next month unless its Chinese owner sells it. The case is set for Jan. 10, nine days before TikTok is scheduled to be shut down in the U.S. In…

The response was much like that of a father when handed the bill for his daughter’s wedding reception. Joy trumps outrage every time. So, when the city of Los Angeles informed the Dodgers that its police and fire department services for the Nov. 1 parade to celebrate the World Series…

WASHINGTON —  The Federal Reserve on Wednesday made another cut in interest rates, but dialed back expectations for lowering rates in the near future. The rate reduction, the third in a row, had been widely expected, but where policymakers go from here is anything but certain. Plans for several more rate…

A long-planned $1.4-billion real estate development at the foot of the newly famous Sixth Street Viaduct in downtown Los Angeles is closer to getting underway after receiving approval from the city Planning Commission. The four-building mega development known as 670 Mesquit will have apartments, offices, a hotel, a charter elementary…

One of Donald Trump’s closing campaign arguments was that he would deliver a new “golden age” for America. This week, he announced that this Trump-powered golden age has already begun. That’s fitting insofar as Trump has rapidly eclipsed the current president, Joe Biden, in setting expectations and even an agenda…

TikTok has filed for an emergency reprieve with the U.S. Supreme Court to buy more time before a nationwide ban on the social media app is set to go into effect next month. “This Court should grant an injunction pending further review,” TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, said…

WASHINGTON —  The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a red-state constitutional challenge to California’s special authority to fight air pollution. Over a dissent by Justice Clarence Thomas, the justices turned away an appeal from Ohio and 16 other conservative states, which asked the court to rule “the Golden State is not…

Patrick Soon-Shiong had become accustomed to making the news. He was the doctor and medical technology innovator who built a fortune, the striving South African immigrant who bought a piece of the Lakers and the L.A. billionaire who brought the Los Angeles Times back under local control when he purchased…

A sports memorabilia auction is never as gripping as the ballgame that gave the item being auctioned immense value. But bidding for the baseball Freddie Freeman crushed for a grand slam that gave the Dodgers a walk-off victory in Game 1 of the World Series against the New York Yankees…

Landmark regulations intended to encourage insurers to write more policies in risky wildfire neighborhoods through the use of complex computer models were released Friday by the state. Under new rules intended to stabilize California’s troubled home insurance market, insurers will be able to set rates by drawing on a wide…

When Luigi Mangione was arrested in the killing of the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, he was hailed in some corners of the internet as an anti-capitalist folk hero. In a document said to be a “manifesto” found with Mangione, published online by journalist Ken Klippenstein, the 26-year-old former data engineer…

Tech executives, attempting to ease tensions with President-elect Donald Trump, are opening up their wallets after the former president staged a historic return to the White House. OpenAI confirmed on Friday that its chief executive, Sam Altman, is planning to personally donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, becoming the…

With the ink dry on the County of Los Angeles’ $200-million purchase of the Gas Company Tower office building downtown, a fight is brewing over what to do with the 1960s-vintage headquarters it plans to leave behind. Supervisor Janice Hahn and preservationists are pushing back against a plan to move…

Wells Fargo employees who review customer complaints and workplace issues have voted to unionize. The move is the latest in a campaign to organize workers at the San Francisco-based bank, which is notable in an industry that historically has had low rates of unionization. After a legal back-and-forth over the…

Glendale’s blue-collar software firm ServiceTitan saw its shares rise nearly 50% Thursday after debuting on the Nasdaq in a successful initial public offering. The provider of business management software for plumbers and other contractors priced its initial public offering of 8.8 million shares at $71, raising gross proceeds of $625…

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to hike the minimum wage for more than 23,000 tourism workers, handing a huge victory to labor unions whose members have struggled to keep up with the rising cost of food, rent and other expenses. On a 12-3 vote, council members instructed City…

Plans for the largest grocery merger in American history are over. A day after a federal judge delivered a serious blow to the merger, Albertsons announced Wednesday it was giving up on the controversial deal to join forces with its competitor Kroger and sued the chain, alleging it failed to…

Kroger’s plans to buy its grocery rival Albertsons hit a major roadblock Tuesday, when a federal judge put a halt to the deal, which would be the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history. The decision is a blow to Albertsons and Kroger, which announced plans for the $24.6-billion acquisition of…

WASHINGTON —  The Supreme Court may be about to sharply limit the reach of so-called environmental impact statements, which gauge potential harm caused by new developments and can often block or scale back large projects. For more than 50 years, federal law has required agencies to take a hard and broad…

Rupert Murdoch has been dealt a setback in his bid to steer control of his empire to his son Lachlan after the media mogul dies. Murdoch, 93, had sought to change the terms of his irrevocable family trust to ensure his older son, Lachlan, would have sole control over his…

OpenAI’s controversial text-to-video artificial intelligence tool Sora sent shock waves through the entertainment industry when the company unveiled it earlier this year. The technology promised to revolutionize filmmaking by automatically creating short movies based on written commands. For example, users could type in descriptions, such as “a stylish woman walks…

If we’re going to vote based on concerns about cost of living, we need to know what levers government can pull and which promises are plausible.

As President-elect Donald Trump vows to impose tariffs on imports from China, Mexico and Canada, economists are warning that a retaliatory trade war could cause major financial damage for California’s agriculture industry. In an analysis published before the presidential election, researchers examined potential scenarios of tariffs and retaliatory measures, and…

WASHINGTON —  Some of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominations have raised hopes that his trade and other economic actions will not be wildly disruptive or bring back inflation. But that could turn out to be wishful thinking. Based on the record of his first term in the Oval Office and on…

WASHINGTON —  Job growth rebounded in November from the weather-related stall in hiring the previous month, fresh evidence that the U.S. labor market remains healthy despite signs of a slowing economy overall, according to new government data released Friday. But the nation’s unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% last month from…

The apparent assassination of UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk Wednesday has unleashed an extraordinary outpouring of emotion. But it’s not all horror or sadness over a 50-year-old father of two being shot dead in public by a man in a mask. Thompson’s death has inspired…

TikTok’s future in the U.S. is now in greater jeopardy after the popular social video app on Friday lost a major court battle as it tries to prevent its banishment. In May, TikTok sued the government, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to declare unconstitutional a law that would require…

Ever since a historic, methane-spewing blowout in October 2015, local lawmakers, residents and activists have been pressuring state regulators and officials, including the governor, to close the Aliso Canyon gas storage field. The leak at the Porter Ranch facility lasted for 121 days and pumped more than 100,000 tons of…

A South Carolina mom is suing Mattel after links to an adult website appeared on the packaging of its line of “Wicked” dolls. Holly Ricketson, the plaintiff, filed a class action suit, claiming that her daughter, a minor, used her iPhone to visit a porn site found listed on the…

A Delaware judge rejected Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package for a second time, writing in her opinion this week that the company’s approval process for the package was “deeply flawed.” Tesla shareholders approved the compensation plan in 2018, which was once valued at $56 billion but fluctuates…

Disney+ subscribers will now see an ESPN tile on the streaming service’s homepage, part of Walt Disney Co.’s continued efforts to increase subscribers and reduce churn. Starting Wednesday, bundle subscribers to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ will be able to access ESPN content from the Disney+ app. Those who subscribe only…

California’s Civil Rights Department announced settlements Tuesday with Amazon, Ikea and Kohl’s over allegations that the big-box retailers illegally denied jobs to people based on their criminal histories. Amazon allegedly denied a Bay Area applicant work as a delivery driver because of a conviction that was more than seven years…

ServiceTitan, a Glendale tech firm that makes business management software for plumbers, painters and other contractors, announced Tuesday that it wants to raise up to $502 million in its initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company said it plans to offer 8.8 million shares that would be…

An Apple employee has sued the company, alleging it improperly requires access to personal data that employees store on the tech behemoth’s iCloud. The lawsuit, filed by Amar Bhakta, who has worked in advertising technology for Apple since 2020, also alleges the company’s policies illegally restrict discussions about wages and…

Now that Donald Trump will be headed to the White House, it is all but certain that he will pursue significant new taxes on imported goods. Although a widely criticized policy, there is little stopping him from doing this due to trade powers that Congress has given the executive branch…

On a recent Friday morning, Alyssa Laxamana arrived at a laboratory on the UC Davis campus to continue California’s race against bird flu. A note from her supervisor had alerted Laxamana that about 130 samples of cow milk and other dairy products were en route — a large but manageable…

Walt Disney Co.’s animated sequel “Moana 2” navigated its way to No. 1 at the box office with a record-breaking domestic Thanksgiving weekend debut, a remarkable feat considering that this big-screen return to Motunui almost didn’t happen. Led again by actors Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, “Moana 2” scored $221…

The round batteries, small as buttons and shiny as coins, are prized for the energy they pack at their size. In households, they have become commonplace, powering remote controls, hearing aids, toys, electric tea lights, wristwatches, greeting cards that play music and other familiar items. But doctors warn that such…

State agriculture officials on Thursday banned Fresno-based Raw Farm from distributing its raw dairy products to retailers amid ongoing concerns about possible bird flu infections among its cattle. However, with the exception of two limited recalls announced in the last few days, products from the farm that are already on…

Bustling crowds and early-morning lines were back as this year’s Black Friday weekend kicked off — a hopeful sign for retailers as they head into the critical holiday shopping season with consumers still grappling with inflation and economic uncertainty. Shoppers plan to spend an average of $650 during the four-day…

In 2019, construction workers raised alarms about a company building luxury apartments in Oakland that appeared to be skirting its financial obligations, both to the state and its employees. That tip would set off a years-long investigation by the California Department of Justice, which accused the Kentucky-based company, US Framing…

More than 3,000 fake Gibson electric guitars have been seized through the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex as part of a multiagency law enforcement investigation, making it the largest counterfeit musical instrument seizure on record, authorities announced Tuesday. Africa Bell, port director for the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport, provided no…

Hundreds of hospitality workers at a Las Vegas casino walked off the job Nov. 15, launching the first open-ended strike in more than two decades for Nevada’s largest union. The workers are members of the Culinary Workers Union as well as an affiliated bartenders union, which together represent some 60,000…

Ara Mahdessian and Vahe Kuzoyan had a simple plan after graduating from college: Write some software that could assist their dads with all the paperwork that comes with being a contractor. Two decades later, that idea has morphed into a Glendale company called ServiceTitan, which last year served some 8,000…

Good news for bargain hunters: Gone are the days of having to stand in line at dawn and then elbow your way through a store to get your hands on coveted Black Friday deals, as many retailers have already launched their Black Friday sales in stores and online. Target, Amazon…

Steep price hikes could be on the way if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his pledge to impose sweeping new tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China. Trump threatened to implement the tariffs on the country’s top three trading partners on his first day back in office, including…

Despite all the talk about Donald Trump being a unique political figure in American history, there’s one way in which he has behaved like every other politician on the stump: He’s promised not to lay a hand on Social Security. With more than 67 million Americans collecting stipends now and…

California, home to a rich pool of talent in major industries such as film and tech, has lost thousands of workers to states that have a lower cost of living and other perks, according to a recent report. The National Assn. of Realtors, which analyzed U.S. census data from the…

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the sprawling government agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act marketplace — celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz — recently held broad investments in healthcare, tech and food companies that would pose significant conflicts of interest. Oz’s holdings, some shared with family, included…

Universal Pictures’ “Wicked” needed no lessons in how to be popular at the domestic box office this weekend, opening at No. 1 to the tune of $114 million, according to studio estimates. That’s the highest opening ever for a film based on a Broadway musical, way ahead of 2014’s “Into…

Dear Liz: President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs have me wondering if now is the time to purchase new kitchen appliances, something I have long delayed doing. If he follows through on his plans, I don’t know how long it would be before the new tariffs take effect. Answer: Tariffs of…

A plan by Advance Auto Parts to stem deepening losses by closing hundreds of stores will result “in a complete exit of certain markets on the West Coast” as the company shutters California locations, its chief executive said. The national auto supply chain plans to close more than 725 locations…

The text arrived midday, saying a delivery to me was on hold. To fix the problem, all I had to do was click on a web link and enter my ZIP Code. “Have a great day from the USPS team!” the text said. The awkwardly worded message (with bad punctuation…

Regular visits to the dentist to fill cavities used to be a shared ordeal for millions of American children and adults. The reason that hasn’t been the case for late baby boomers and subsequent generations is that the fluoridation of drinking water became common starting in the late 1940s and…

The fate of TikTok in the U.S. has been up in the air since 2020, when President Donald Trump moved to ban the popular video app because of national security concerns. That set off four years of back-and-forth between the app’s Chinese owners and the U.S. government, with a possible…

Google and federal officials are battling it out over a proposal that the tech giant be forced to sell its popular Chrome web browser to restore competition to the online search market. The proposal, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and several states this week, came after a federal…

The return of Donald Trump to the White House in 2025 will spark a significant shift in U.S. economic policy across numerous issue areas, but changes to U.S. trade and industrial policy might be more subtle than severe. We are still operating under many of the trade policies Trump set…

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday postponed a vote on a major boost to wages for hotel and airport workers, voicing concerns that the pay hike could damage the city’s tourism industry. The council’s decision to put off the vote until Dec. 11 came as hotel owners were threatening…

In any contest to name the cruelest and most useless healthcare “reform” favored by Republicans and conservatives, it would be hard to beat the idea of applying work requirements to Medicaid. Yet, it’s back on the table, teed up by congressional Republicans as a deficit-cutting tool. In a rational world,…

Californians, who have historically supported efforts to raise the minimum wage, were not swayed this time around. After two weeks of postelection uncertainty, Proposition 32, the initiative to increase the state’s minimum wage to $18 an hour, was defeated by a narrow margin. The rejection was “a pretty poignant sign…

Is Netflix a universal language? The entertainment giant is counting on it as the company seeks to extend its lead in the global streaming business. On Monday, Netflix showcased its latest slate of international original programs, which are a key part of its strategy to attract and retain subscribers around…

Radio and podcast giant iHeartMedia has laid off 13 employees at KFI-AM (640), cutting the news staff of the Los Angeles radio station in half. KFI-AM (640) news director Chris Little, who was among the terminated staff members, revealed Tuesday on X that his team of 25 was reduced to…

The snap judgment among legal experts was that a federal judge’s dismissal on Nov. 7 of a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI, the leader in advanced chatbots, will short-circuit an ever-growing effort by artists and writers to keep AI firms from stealing their content. There’s no question that the ruling…

Elon Musk is easily the world’s wealthiest man, with a net worth topping $300 billion. But even he stands to make more money from his association with the federal government after placing a winning bet on Donald Trump’s election to the presidency. “It’s going to be a golden era for…

President-elect Donald Trump’s full-throated support for oil and gas drilling might be expected to send a chill through the electric vehicle industry were it not for a wild card in his fledgling administration: Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk. Trump has long railed against EV mandates and subsidies. Then came August,…

A blizzard of lawsuits filed by its receiver reveals that the once-high-flying crypto firm FTX was even more crooked and dumb than you thought.

Cargo traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is at record highs. The two busiest ports in the U.S., which process about a third of all U.S. cargo containers arriving in the U.S., have seen increased activity after a labor dispute shut down major ports on the…

X, the social media app owned by Elon Musk, has sued California in an attempt to block a new law requiring large online platforms to remove or label deceptive election content. The lawsuit, filed in federal court this week, targets a law that aims to combat harmful videos, images and…

As people wind through the queue of the new Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride, they’re greeted by a chalkboard message left by the princess. “Don’t forget! Celebration at my house tonight! Everybody’s welcome!” That message shows up again, both in signage and song, throughout the ride, which replaced Splash Mountain at…

It’s been 24 years since audiences first saw Ridley Scott’s vision of the brutality of Rome’s Colosseum. Twenty-eight years since they chased an F5 tornado with Helen Hunt. Thirty-six years since they said a certain bio-exorcist’s name three times. But this year, all three properties have made, or will make,…

Superheroes and animation packed a punch for Walt Disney Co. as “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2” propelled the company’s film studio to one of its best fiscal quarters. The Burbank media giant reported Thursday that its entertainment business took in $10.8 billion in revenue during its fiscal fourth…

Swedish streaming audio giant Spotify is courting more video creators, podcasters and influencers in an effort to step up its competition with popular digital platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The Stockholm-based company on Wednesday hosted creators at its office in Downtown L.A.’s Arts District, where executives showed off…

Fifty-five years ago, preschoolers were captivated by the TV performance of a fuzzy blue monster, two striped shirt-wearing best friends and a big yellow bird. Today, in the now-crowded field of children’s media, one big-headed, animated toddler named JJ is running to the top. Born from YouTube, JJ and his…

Intimacy coordinators have unanimously elected to unionize under the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Members of the bargaining unit voted 100% in favor of unionization in an official election overseen by the National Labor Relations board, the union announced Tuesday. Intimacy coordinators are the professionals who…

When the LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr told its staff last year that the days of fully remote work were over, more than 80 employees — nearly half off the company — said they wouldn’t report to the company’s West Hollywood headquarters or other newly established offices around the country. As…

The price of a bitcoin soared to a record high of more than $87,000 on Monday, continuing its surge in value since Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the presidential election spurred excitement about the digital currency. Unlike President Biden, whose administration has sought to rein in cryptocurrency, Trump has done…

Toy manufacturer Mattel has apologized for a misprint that appeared on the packaging of its line of “Wicked” dolls and listed an address for an adult website. The error gained steam this weekend after social media users discovered that the link to the film — wickedmovie.com — was mislabeled, sending…

This postelection Veterans Day weekend saw two new films crack the top three box office slots, with “Venom: The Last Dance,” bringing in $16.2 million in its third weekend. The third installment of the Marvel series from Sony, starring Tom Hardy as journalist Eddie Brock and his “symbiote” sidekick, Venom,…

SAN FRANCISCO —  On election night, as Republican Donald Trump inched closer to reclaiming the U.S. presidency, some tech executives and venture capitalists rejoiced. “The people of America gave @realDonaldTrump a crystal clear mandate for change tonight,” Elon Musk posted on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The…

The officials missed not one, but two apparent penalties on one key play late in the Cincinnati Bengals-Baltimore Ravens showdown Thursday night that could have cost Joe Burrow and Co. the game. That came just two weeks after the officials appeared to have missed another crucial call at the end…

It was perhaps natural that campaign coverage of the presidential candidates’ healthcare policies began and ended with abortion rights; since June 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, 20 states have banned abortions or enacted draconian restrictions on the procedure. That landscape could turn even more dire with…

The Bay Area has long held the title for attracting the most venture capital funding in the nation, and that naturally includes the hot market for artificial intelligence startups. After all, San Francisco is home to some of the most prominent AI players, including ChatGPT maker OpenAI. But the Greater…