Los Angeles Times

Two decades later, 'Waco' serves as a 'cautionary tale' of the disenfranchised

It would be easy to dismiss Paramount Network's "Waco" miniseries as old news: After all, what could a 1993 standoff between FBI agents and religious leader David Koresh tell us about today? Turns out, quite a lot, particularly with Michael Shannon (as FBI negotiator Gary Noesner) and Taylor Kitsch …

'Howards End' star Hayley Atwell was drawn to the vitality of the story exploring class differences

The 1992 Merchant Ivory film “Howards End,” adapted from the E.M. Forster novel, won three Oscars, including one for leading lady Emma Thompson. So pity the actress who would attempt to tackle the same role a quarter-century later, right? Not necessarily. When “Howards End” returned on the Starz …

A case for 'Twin Peaks' and twin nominations for Laura Dern and Jeff Daniels

“Big Little Lies” and “Feud: Bette and Joan” made the limited series Emmy categories the races to watch last year, offering a wealth of first-rate acting and entertaining and intimate moments. This year’s races don’t quite offer the same appeal, though my dream — and, yeah, it’s a surreal one …

Kyle MacLachlan loves Special Agent Dale Cooper — just don't ask him to pick his favorite version in 'Twin Peaks'

“Twin Peaks” true believers expecting to see Kyle MacLachlan’s Special Agent Dale Cooper ordering up a mess of pie and damn fine coffee in the show’s limited-series return had to be confounded as MacLachlan spent most of the season’s 18 episodes playing a variation of Cooper — the catatonic Dougie …

Michelle Dockery puts Lady Mary behind her to wield a gun on the western 'Godless'

It's been three years since "Downton Abbey" signed off and Michelle Dockery went from being Lady Mary to an actress who needed her next gig. Fortunately, two came along in short order: TNT's "Good Behavior," which wrapped its second season in December with no word yet as to a third, and Netflix's …

Sure, there are guns and horses and even a train robbery, but 'Godless' is no ordinary western

When Scott Frank finished writing "Minority Report" in 2002, he dropped a show biz bombshell that took 15 years to detonate. "I remember telling my poor agent at the time, 'I'm going to write an original on spec,' and she said, 'Anything, as long as it's not a western,’" Frank recalls. "I just …

From the Archives: The Pinwheel helicopter

The Pinwheel demonstration at the San Fernando Valley Airport – now the Van Nuys Airport – was reported in the April 16, 1957, Los Angeles Times:<p><i>The pinwheel performed like a hissing yo-yo yesterday — a rocket-powered strap-on-the-back helicopter that skittered Test Pilot Dick Whitehead around San</i> …

At a meeting about brown water pouring from taps, congresswoman says people were paid to speak out in favor of water district

At a town hall Monday, Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán alleged that people were paid to pose as residents to speak out in support of an embattled water district, marking a strange twist in the ongoing controversy over discolored water pouring out of taps in Compton and Willowbrook.<p>The Sativa …

They flee terrifying violence in Central America, and arrive in a country that barbarically rips children from parents

Without warning, she dropped her head and began to cry.<p>Jessica, whose young son played nearby at a South Los Angeles health clinic, put her hands over her face to cover her tears.<p>When I asked what was wrong, she told me her husband had been ordered by Guatemalan gangsters to pay a protection tax or …

Walt Disney's favorite composers, the Sherman brothers, get a star-filled film academy salute

Walt Disney’s favorite Sherman brothers song from his 1964 blockbuster musical “Mary Poppins” wasn’t the Oscar-winning "Chim Chim Cher-ee,” the upbeat “A Spoonful of Sugar” or the tongue-twisting “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”<p>Instead, it was the haunting ballad “Feed the Birds.” Disney loved …

Trump threatens to slap tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese goods, raising trade tensions

President Trump, moving to amp up pressure on China to make trade concessions, threatened late Monday to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese imports and to double that amount if Beijing retaliates with countermeasures.<p>Trump’s announcement marks the latest escalation of a brewing …

USC lawyer says secret deal with accused campus gynecologist 'worked efficiently'

Testifying before legislators at the state Capitol on Monday, an attorney for USC defended its response to misconduct reports against a campus gynecologist, saying the university’s decision to force the physician out through a secret internal process “worked efficiently.”<p>“The doctor was suspended …

American Airlines agrees to pay $45 million to settle antitrust lawsuit filed by passengers

American Airlines, the world’s largest carrier, has agreed to pay $45 million to settle a lawsuit filed by passengers who accused the nation’s biggest airlines of colluding to limit capacity and keep airfares high.<p>Another large carrier that was accused in the lawsuit, Southwest Airlines, agreed in …

Critics say CFPB nominee Kathy Kraninger lacks the experience to be the nation's top consumer financial watchdog

Nominees for top federal financial regulators usually have worked in high-level government or private-sector jobs, and President Trump had been following that traditional playbook. Until his latest pick.<p>His choice for comptroller of the currency was chief executive of Pasadena's OneWest Bank; the …

UC San Diego discovers world's first known manta ray nursery

UC San Diego has discovered the world’s first known nursery for manta rays, an idyllic spot in the Gulf of Mexico where the “gentle giants” approach …

Family separations at the border: How did we get here?

The<p>Trumpadministration’s policy of separating children from their parents when families are apprehended crossing the border illegally caught many Americans by surprise.<p>Where did the policy come from, and what’s new about it? Here are answers to some often-asked questions.<p>When did government policy …

Trump's pick for consumer agency chief has never stood up for consumers

President Trump has picked a nominee for director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and, true to form, he’s made a bad choice.<p>Trump this week will nominate Kathy Kraninger, a little-known White House budget official, to serve as the nation’s top consumer watchdog.<p>She has no experience in …

Kim Kardashian, Zendaya up the star wattage at the MTV Movie & TV Awards red carpet

The 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which took place on Saturday, proved to be a collection of fashion firsts and risks as starlets walked the red carpet just outside of Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.<p>“It was a little out of the box for me,” nominee and “Riverdale” star Madelaine Petsch …

Trump announces 'Space Force' plan as he signs space policy directive

President Trump signed a space policy directive Monday aimed at coordinating federal and industry efforts to manage space traffic and debris ahead of the expected launch of hundreds or even thousands of small satellites.<p>Trump also said he would direct the Defense Department and Gen. Joseph Dunford, …

Obama shares his June reading list, but don't expect any beach reads

Former President Obama is out of office but he’s keeping up on politics and social issues with the books he’s reading.<p>Obama shared a list of books he's been reading on Facebook on Saturday.<p>The list is long on intellectual nonfiction and short on anything that could be described as a beach read. …

Tesla severance deal is likely to deter laid-off workers from publicizing safety concerns, experts say

Language in a confidential severance agreement Tesla Inc. is using as part of the biggest job cut in its history is likely to deter dismissed employees from going public with worker safety concerns, according to employment-law experts.<p>A proposed severance agreement the Elon Musk-led automaker …

Stocks recover from sharp early drop, finishing mixed

U.S. stocks shrugged off early losses and wound up with a mixed finish Monday. Household goods companies took some of the worst losses as the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell for the third time in four days.<p>The S&P 500 dropped as much as 22 points early in the day. Consumer products and packaged …

Celebrate Juneteenth: Favorite recipes from African American cookbook and other celebrated authors

Backlash builds against Trump's policy splitting families at border, as he falsely blames Democrats

President Trump stood defiant Monday against a growing backlash over his administration's “zero tolerance” immigration policy that since April has separated at least 2,000 children from their parents crossing the southern border, and he continued to falsely blame Democrats for the hard-line actions.<p>…

Supreme Court refuses to rule on partisan gerrymandering in a setback for reformers

In a setback for political reformers, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to strike down partisan gerrymandering as unconstitutional and set aside cases from Wisconsin and Maryland for procedural reasons.<p>In Wisconsin, several Democratic voters had sued to challenge a Republican-drawn election map …

California Inc.: Disney to unveil new Pixar Pier attraction

Welcome to California Inc., the weekly newsletter of the L.A. Times Business Section.<p>I’m Business columnist David Lazarus, and here’s a rundown of upcoming stories this week and the highlights of last week.<p>On the home front, we learned Friday that the California economy cooled somewhat in May as …

A brief history of the Los Angeles Times

Here are some key moments in the history of the Los Angeles Times.<p><i>Feb. 4, 1881</i><p>The Mirror Printing Office and Book Bindery begins publishing the six-day-a-week Los Angeles Daily Times. The four-page broadsheet costs a penny.<p><i>July 28, 1882</i><p>Col. Harrison Gray Otis, fresh from a government post in …

Texas Border Patrol center where immigrant families are separated draws lawmakers, protest

A baby boy cried as a staffer carried him past chain-link fenced holding areas in the Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, Texas, on Sunday morning, a sprawling former warehouse, the largest of its kind on the border.<p>Such crying is not unusual, said John Lopez, acting deputy patrol agent in …

'Incredibles 2' smashes record with the biggest opening ever for an animated film

The Pixar superhero movie "Incredibles 2" made 14 years of anticipation worth the wait for Disney, as the follow-up to 2004's "The Incredibles" smashed the record for highest animation debut of all time with an estimated $180 million in ticket sales for the U.S. and Canada, according to the …

Indie Focus: Real struggles with 'Superfly,' 'En El Septimo Dia,' and 'The Year of Spectacular Men'

Hello! I'm Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.<p>LALIFF, formerly the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, returns this year from June 20 to 24 in Hollywood, helping to fill the local summer schedule now that the L.A. Film …