Dazzling parties and dashed hopes: To understand Hollywood, you need these 50 books

Joan Didion’s novel is a cutting-edge study of a decaying Hollywood, saturated “with copycat movies, predatory men, hacks and hangers-on,” wrote Matt. “The most remarkable aspect of Didion’s portrait ... Read More

Kate Coleman, Who Documented the Bay Area Counterculture, Dies at 81

She wrote about politics and the patriarchy as a left-wing writer, then alienated her compatriots with exposés critical of the Black Panthers and the environmental movement. Read More

New Black congressional district in Louisiana bows to politics, not race, backers say

Louisiana is awaiting a decision from three federal judges that could affect the balance of power in Congress — and the fortunes of two prominent state politicians. Read More

The Compost: 🙏 Thank you and farewell! ️

Welcome to The Compost, a weekly newsletter on key environmental news impacting Southern California. In today’s edition… No one likes change. Or so the story goes. Climate change? Agreed. That’s the ... Read More

A solar ban, a gas power plant and the rural retirees firing back at dirty energy

In one of the sunniest expanses of Arizona desert, a power company wants to build a gas-fired peaker plant near homes. Residents are ready to fight. Read More

Capitol Notebook: Bill to prohibit firearms tracking headed to Iowa Gov. Reynolds’ desk

Financial institutions operating in the state would be prohibited from using a merchant code for credit card transactions at gun retailers meant to detect suspicious firearms and ammunition sales ... Read More

Trudy Rubin: Will Speaker Mike Johnson stand up to Trump and allow House vote on Ukraine aid?

How grotesque to watch long-term U.S. security interests hang on the outcome of a political battle between the Hamlet-like ... as the GOP turns against Kyiv while the world and the White House focus ... Read More

Proposed Iowa state tax incentives for billion-dollar projects passed, sent to governor

A $93 million package of state tax incentives designed specifically to entice billion-dollar economic development projects to Iowa was approved by state lawmakers Tuesday and needs just Gov. Kim ... Read More

Cash-strapped Argentines queue for eyeball scans

Argentines eyeing a financial boost are lining up by the thousands to have their irises scanned in exchange for a few crypto tokens as part of an online biometrics project ... Read More

Capitol Notebook: Bill to arm school staff headed to Iowa Gov. Reynolds

A bill that would allow trained school staff to carry firearms on school grounds is headed to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to be signed into law. House lawmakers agreed to a Senate amendment that removed a ... Read More