Month: February 2025

Los Angeles County could lose $4.6 billion to $8.9 billion in economic output over the next five years from the Palisades and Eaton fires, a Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. study released Thursday predicts. Federal, state and local governments are estimated to miss out on up to $1.4 billion in tax revenue from 2025 […]

Technicolor Group, the storied visual effects, motion graphics and animation company behind some of Hollywood’s most memorable films, is shuttering operations, including in California. The company is laying off 217 workers and permanently closing its Culver City studio on Lindblade Street, according to a notice filed with California‘s Employment Development Department on Feb. 24 . […]

Ursula Boschet, the iconic Hollywood costume designer, whose shop draped celebrities and civilians for more than half a century, has died. She was 90. Boschet died Monday afternoon of pancreatic cancer surrounded by family at her home in Chatsworth, a spokesperson for the family confirmed. In a career that defied the frequent churn and vagaries […]

Thousands of University of California healthcare, research and technical employees walked off the job Wednesday, urging the university to address staffing shortages and end what they describe as restrictions on employees’ ability to raise concerns about workplace conditions. The planned three-day strike comes amid strained negotiations between the 10-campus UC system and University Professional and […]

State Farm General, California’s largest home insurer, estimated Tuesday that it will cost $7.6 billion to settle its Los Angeles-area fire claims, but it said reinsurance will lower its losses to about $612 million. The company disclosed it has already paid $1.75 billion to cover about 9,500 claims and will be able to handle all […]

When her teen with autism suddenly became angry, depressed and violent, the mother searched his phone for answers. She found her son had been exchanging messages with chatbots on Character.AI, an artificial intelligence app that allows users to create and interact with virtual characters that mimic celebrities, historical figures and anyone else their imagination conjures. […]

An Arizona woman has been awarded $7.25 million by a federal court in California after a day of magic at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with her grandson ended with her in an ambulance. Earlier this month, a jury found Universal Studios Hollywood responsible for the crushed spine that lawyers said 74-year-old Pamela Morrison […]

Apple said Monday it plans to invest $500 billion in the United States, hire 20,000 people and open a new manufacturing factory in Texas over the next four years. “We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we’re proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our […]

Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms said it’s working on the world’s longest undersea cable as part of the social media giant’s efforts to connect more people to high-speed internet. Called Project Waterworth, the massive cable spanning more than 31,000 miles will bring “industry-leading connectivity” to the United States, India, Brazil, South Africa and other regions, […]

People who toil on the Universal Studios lot out of the public eye recently got an upgrade to their workplace meant to bring it more in line with its glamorous image as a historic movie factory and theme park known to the world. The old campus was so uninspired and bland that wags compared it […]

Nikola, the startup that sought to build fleets of electric heavy-duty trucks, has filed for bankruptcy and plans to shut down. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday, expects to sell all or most of its assets in order to maximize value for shareholders and ensure an “orderly wind down of its businesses,” […]

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif.  — On a clear, cold day in mid-February, we had spent hours on backcountry skis trudging up and across a remote mountainside in the eastern Sierra when we noticed that the trees directly above us were much smaller than the others we had passed along the way. Still panting from the workout, I […]

Can prefab homes accelerate the rebuilding of Altadena and Pacific Palisades? The new foundation launched by Rick Caruso is hoping they will, announcing on Wednesday a $15-million pledge from an Airbnb co-founder to provide nearly 100 prefabricated homes in communities ravaged by wildfire. The donation from Joe Gebbia, who is also a member of Tesla’s […]

By the time “Emilia Pérez” had garnered 13 Oscar nominations, including for best picture, Netflix’s Spanish-language musical about a transgender drug lord had already been mired in controversy. Critics skewered the film’s portrayal of trans issues and Mexican culture. Then Karla Sofía Gascón’s old social media posts resurfaced in which the first out trans performer […]