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There is a certain “it” factor that many professional athletes, movie stars and musicians possess, qualities that fuel their celebrity and attract legions of fans but are often hard to define. Not so with Tyler Glasnow, the new Dodgers ace with a 6-foot-8, 225-pound frame that oozes athleticism, a personality as big as his 98-mph fastball, the facial look of Academy Award-winning actor Cillian Murphy, the long, flowing locks and occasional lingo of a Lower Trestles surf rat, and an aura that is easier to put into words. “He’s California cool, easy going, really bright, extremely well-traveled, and he has a little Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times [at Ridgemont High] in him,” said Chris Rose, who has employed Glasnow as a regular co-host on his Jomboy Media podcast, “The Chris Rose Rotation,” for the last three years. “I just think he’s fascinating. “And on top of everything else, he’s a behemoth of a human being — he’s a combination of an NBA power forward and a guy who should be on the cover of a romance novel — and, oh, he happens to throw a

It always seemed farfetched that anti-abortion doctors could argue that they have the right to ask a court to severely restrict a drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration simply because they don’t want to treat women who might experience complications. Do they even have standing to bring this case? Do they have any proof they have been so harmed or injured that it justifies restricting FDA-approved access to mifepristone, the first in a two-drug regimen for medication abortion? These are among the questions raised when the Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case from Texas by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an anti-abortion group that claims the FDA did not adequately study mifepristone before putting it on the market in 2000. Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk — a staunch opponent of abortion — ruled in favor of the alliance, which wants the drug pulled from the market. The Biden administration appealed to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which allowed doctors to continue to prescribe mifepristone, with the caveat that the medication be used as it

It’s a kinda-sorta memory. About the char of a cheeseburger from my childhood. I can almost taste it. It came to mind during a terrible stretch for the Los Angeles restaurant industry. More than 65 notable eateries closed last year, and the trend hasn’t let up: Spartina, Manzke, Pearl River Deli and others shuttered in the first few months of 2024. It seems harder than ever to run a successful restaurant, amid the rising cost of ingredients, labor, rent and utilities. The bleak news got me thinking about the first eatery whose closure left me bereft. Jeremiah P. Throckmorton Grille — a casual spot in Beverly Hills — was a real-life “Peach Pit” that for years served devotees burgers, hot dogs and egg creams, until it shut down suddenly in 1997. (Nagumo family) For many, Throckmorton — or Throck’s, as regulars called it — offered a taste of adolescent freedom: You could walk there after middle school and order a burger, fries and a milkshake, without anyone saying it’d spoil dinner. Sitting at the long counter, you hatched plans with friends. You worried about a

Premiering Friday on the confusingly named Paramount+ with Showtime, “A Gentleman in Moscow” is quite unlike anything else on television. Created by Ben Vanstone (“All Creatures Great and Small”) and largely directed by Sam Miller (“I May Destroy You”) from the 2016 novel by Amor Towles, there’s nothing overtly radical about the production or plot, and elements of the story might remind viewers of Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” or Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” or Kay Thompson’s “Eloise” books. But in its tone and pacing is quite its own creature, at once romantic and controlled, somber and whimsical. Heartbreaking, heartwarming, sometimes heart-stopping, and as much as anything the stage for a wonderful performance by its star, Ewan McGregor, it collects characters who are flush with emotion but — for reasons political, personal, cultural or as a matter of self-preservation — don’t demonstrate it openly. The production, too, maintains that tension between feeling and restraint, which ultimately intensifies the feeling. McGregor plays Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, who, having returned to Russia from Paris in the wake of the 1917 revolution — he “missed the climate,”

Shohei Ohtani looms large over Little Tokyo. His towering 150-foot visage on the side of the Miyako Hotel is only the latest, most obvious sign of the mania — and huge financial prospects — surrounding the Dodgers’ two-way superstar. Soon, crowds of tourists, from around the region and as far away as Japan, are expected to descend on Little Tokyo, and the small businesses there are ready. There will be special Ohtani-related deals at 31-year-old restaurant Mr. Ramen. Udon restaurant Marugame Monzo already has a window display with stuffed Totoros wearing Dodgers batting helmets and jerseys, an Ohtani pennant proudly centered. Where Ohtani goes, the money follows. That’s why you could almost hear a collective sigh of relief when Ohtani categorically denied this week, ahead of the Dodgers’ home opener Thursday, that he never bet on sports, or anything else, for that matter. And it wasn’t just relief from true-blue Dodger fans who are looking to Ohtani to bring World Series glory to the team they love. Many businesses, corporate sponsors and private investors, not to mention Major League Baseball and the city of Los

Howdy, “Cowboy Carter.” Almost two years after Beyoncé ushered fans into her glitzy disco “Renaissance,” the countdown for her latest album is finally on. “Cowboy Carter,” the second act of the pop diva’s promised “Renaissance” trilogy, lands later this week — and with it, a bounty of material for the Beyhive. Beyoncé enters her “Cowboy Carter” era months after revealing the new album, and dropping two singles, during Super Bowl LVIII in February. Since then, the 32-time Grammy winner has shared several album images, topped Billboard’s country-music chart, dropped “Cowboy Carter” merchandise and more. In a rare post directly addressing fans, Beyoncé revealed that “Cowboy Carter” has been in the works for more than five years. “I focused on this album as a continuation of RENAISSANCE … I hope this music is an experience, creating another journey where you can close your eyes, start from the beginning and never stop,” she wrote. With mere days to go before “Cowboy Carter” arrives, here’s what we know so far about Beyoncé’s newest release — from its track list to the merchandise drop. When does ‘Cowboy Carter’ come