Entertainment

The Internal Revenue Service can help to narrow the budget gap if it has the resources to catch tax cheats. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) The U.S. fiscal outlook has dramatically deteriorated since the last time we ran a surplus in 2001, and President Biden — like Democratic and Republican presidents before him — … Read more

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announces his state’s plan to impose work requirements on Medicaid enrollees in 2018, as then-President Trump’s Medicaid boss, Seema Verma, looks on. The Arkansas program failed to deliver higher employment, but threw thousands of Arkansans off Medicaid before it was halted by a federal judge. (Kelly P. Kissel / Associated Press) … Read more

The L.A. Flower District is full of surprises. Here’s a DIY guide for newbies Flowers are ubiquitous in Southern California and so easy to procure, from the buckets of seasonal blooms at your local supermarket to the gaudy $5 bouquets hawked at many freeway off-ramps. But there are times when off-the-rack arrangements just won’t cut … Read more

A viral text message exchange has exposed the huge taboo around discussing your salary, even with a prospective boss. Workplace commentator Ben Askins runs a successful TikTok account solely dedicated to calling out “toxic” bosses and companies. People anonymously submit their workplace experiences, and Askins shares his opinion on them. Often, the clips ignite big … Read more

Chad Michael Murray is currently deep in thought. With his index finger firmly pressed against his chiseled jawline, he’s trying to determine exactly how many times he’s shirtless in “The Merry Gentlemen.” He can’t figure it out — it’s at least nine by my count — but he’s sure it needs to be a game. … Read more

Oscars 2025: Early assumptions. True or false? We’re a week out from Thanksgiving, still figuring out how much turkey to buy (really? that much?), how a bird that size will possibly fit into our oven and whether we might use our next-door neighbor’s oven as a backup. You know, the same questions that vexed the … Read more

Animated contenders spotlight a ghost cat, snail hoarder, robots and a fowl villain The animated conversation this year has been dominated by the medium’s biggest grosser yet (“Inside Out 2”) and one of the most acclaimed big-studio entries in years (“The Wild Robot”). But don’t sleep on the many other noteworthy contenders that deserve consideration … Read more

There’s a scene in “Megalopolis” where the visionary architect Cesar (Adam Driver) shares a kiss with Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel) atop construction rafters hanging high above the city of New Rome — and time stops. When he first saw it, composer Osvaldo Golijov assumed writer-director Francis Ford Coppola staged it like that just to be original. … Read more

On a day when the world woke up to a nightmare in progress, they were in the control room The morning of Sept. 5, 1972, began like any other for producer Geoffrey Mason and his ABC Sports team in Munich: another day of capturing the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” at the … Read more

Marissa Bode, photographed on the Universal Studios Lot, makes her feature film debut as Nessarose in “Wicked.” (Ethan Benavidez/For The Times) The cast of “Wicked” is stacked with well-known names: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Peter Dinklage, Bowen Yang. But one actor you likely don’t know is making “Wicked” history: … Read more