Entertainment

Syrians celebrate the fall of the Assad regime at Omayyad Square in Aleppo, Syria, on Dec. 9. (Omar Sanadiki / Associated Press) To the editor: With the fall of Syria’s ruthless dictator and finally, the opening of its prison gates, the world is getting a full picture of the barbarity Bashar Assad unleashed against the … Read more

“Below Deck Down Under” star Jason Chambers has been diagnosed with melanoma. The 52-year-old reality star publicly revealed his health news in an Instagram video on Monday. “Update on the biopsy I had. It came back with melanoma,” Chambers explained in the video. “I’m in Australia. That was done in Bali. The Australian doctors, which … Read more

A voter places his ballot in the drop box at the Orange County Registrar of Voters in Santa Ana on Nov. 5. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) To the editor: “When did it become OK?” — seeing this statement from someone frustrated over “smash and grab” robberies and who voted for President-elect Donald … Read more

(Loris Lora / for The Times) Hillary Chang had been dating her boyfriend for three years when he asked her a question that would change their relationship forever: Do you want to move in together? He’d been offered a new job in tech sales, which would require him to move from their current city of … Read more

Holiday lights along Reese Way in Torrance last year. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Hanukkah begins on Christmas this year, marking a rare coincidence of the Jewish and Christian holidays, which occur according to different calendars. The alignment invites reflection on how two traditions can inspire each other. The Orthodox Jewish community I grew … Read more

A smartwatch displays the wearer’s step count and heart rate. (Smith Collection / Gado via Getty Images) The first thing I do each morning is check my watch — not for the time but for my sleep score. As a runner, when the glowing red letters say my score — and my training readiness — … Read more

A class at Power Yoga. (Amy Goalen) Los Angeles County is vast — and with a magnitude of yoga studios. We scoured the county, stretching to explore as diverse a variety of classes as possible, before narrowing them down to the 28 best independent studios based on atmosphere, accessibility and community-building. But our list is … Read more

Elon Musk’s stance on the agency was summed up in a pithy tweet: “Delete CFPB.” (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call / Getty Images) The billionaire Elon Musk and the California venture capitalist Marc Andreessen have started a debate about the role of government that we should be having — but it might not go the … Read more

Cristina Haraba reacts as she dines with strangers at Bacari in Los Angeles. (Etienne Laurent / For The Times) When David Brown moved from Chicago to Los Angeles this summer, one of the first things he did was download an app that aims to “fight big-city loneliness.” The 35-year-old sales director had seen an Instagram … Read more

Most audiences will feel that the magic of a film happens on camera or on the screen in a darkened room. But there’s plenty of magic and drama to be had in the edit suite, where everything comes together, falls apart and gets remade one more time. “It’s somewhere between a writing room and a … Read more