California Dolphin

Exit polling suggests that the dominating issue for voters in the presidential election was the economy. Americans can barely afford groceries, rent and child care. Voters perceived President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans to be more capable of addressing the woes of inflation and globalization, but Democrats have been hawking a similar message. Politicians of all stripes need to move away from selling voters the false promise that they have control over inflation and globalization. Washington does have the power to make positive changes for working families, though. As one party is about to control Congress and the White House, this would be a great moment for lawmakers to brush up on how markets work and what the federal government can do to mitigate stagnant wages and market failures, support working families, and subsidize the construction of new housing. As voters, it is also our job to learn some basic economics, at least enough to understand supply and demand for housing; the effect of tariffs, taxes and subsidies as tools; and the causes of inflation. Our whole country would benefit from a refresher course. Luckily, some

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip —  The tools of his newfound trade arrayed before him, Mohammad Al-Ashaqar, a jeweler for decades, prepares himself for the first of some 200 intricate repairs he performs every day. In his hand he holds neither gemstone nor gold, but a gossamer-thin 20-shekel note held together with tape. He takes an X-acto knife, carefully peels off the old tape, cleans the residue, then applies transparent glue in a way to ensure the bill doesn’t break when it’s folded. “It’s not easy,” Al-Ashqar, 48, says of his work as a money repairman in a shop in Deir al Balah. “But I’ve become quite good at it.” In Deir al Balah, Mohammad al-Ashqar, a jeweler for decades, repairs worn-out Israeli shekels with simple tools like glue and an X-Acto knife, aiming to restore them as usable currency. Palestinian territories use the shekel as their primary currency. (Bilal Shbair / Los Angeles Times) More than a year into Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, cash is king. But the destruction across the Palestinian territory, which has left few banks standing and made ATMs inaccessible

(Natalia Agatte / For The Times) Demi Moore has drawn the most focused awards attention of her career for her bold performance in “The Substance” as actor and fitness guru Elisabeth Sparkle, who takes an illicit drug in an attempt to retrieve her youth. But looking back, Moore is a veteran of the major awards circuit. 1991 Moore received a lead actress comedy/musical Golden Globe nomination for “Ghost.” 2 Although she was not nominated for an Oscar, Moore starred in two best picture nominees, “Ghost” and “A Few Good Men.” And this was when there were only … 5 … best picture contenders in a year. 1997 Moore received an Emmy producing nomination and Golden Globe producing and acting nominations for the abortion-themed HBO anthology film “If These Walls Could Talk.” 1 of 5 Moore was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for the breast cancer-themed 2011 Lifetime short-film anthology “Five,” along with fellow directors Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Patty Jenkins and Penelope Spheeris. 1/24-6/24: Great five-month run for Moore, who won sympathy as ostracized socialite Ann Woodward in “Feud: Capote vs. the

Classical music has been on the front lines in a year marked by division and distraction, protest and intolerance, war and suffering. A pro-Palestinian UCLA student encampment fell under violent attack in April on the same day that, just across the quad, the ambitious Hear Now festival of Los Angeles new music held the last day of its four-concert series. The concluding work turned out to be George Lewis’ “Lonnie and Lonie,” a double concerto that found common musical ground for two uncles with opposing views of the world. Meanwhile, youth orchestras demonstrated that kids from both sides of a divided Venezuela could work together in a children’s symphony; the same with young musicians from Israel and surrounding Arab countries and territories in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. The first to bring a sense of community after the U.S. presidential campaigns were the new music ensemble Brightwork on election night and Wild Up in a series of weekend “Democracy Sessions.” Both ended in meditative peace. It’s been a consequential, demanding year. An L.A. Phil year Simon O’Neill sings during the L.A. Phil’s “Das Rheingold” in Disney

In the same week last month, two women were reported missing by their families to the Los Angeles Police Department. Their cases garnered attention, quickly making national headlines. Volunteers helped look for the women while their families raised money with crowdfunding online to aid their search efforts. Then, came a shocking update from the police: There was no evidence their loved ones had been abducted. They were instead deemed “voluntarily missing” or not missing at all. In both instances, police said they started their investigation the way a typical missing person’s case would: determining if the person is actually missing or just doesn’t want to be found. First, “Gossip Girl” actress Chanel Maya Banks was reported missing by her family on Nov. 8, Within days, Banks revealed she was safe in Texas, where she verified her identity with local authorities and gave a media interview. She was later removed from California’s registry of missing persons. At the same time, a cousin of Banks was calling news conferences and telling the media that the police claim that Banks was in Texas was “fake news,” insisting she

House panel releases report on Trump shooting Breaking down the House panel report on Trump rally shooting 04:04 Washington — Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe is set to testify Thursday before the bipartisan House task force investigating the assassination attempts against President-elect Donald Trump as the panel prepares to wrap its investigation into the incidents that sent shockwaves through the country in the lead up to the presidential election.  The panel, which the House voted to establish earlier this year, is tasked with looking into the security failures during the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the foiled attempt in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. The lawmakers will also make recommendations to prevent future attacks. Thursday’s hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Capitol Hill. The Secret Service came under intense scrutiny in the wake of the initial attack, and its director at the time, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned in July after a bruising day of testimony before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. Rowe’s testimony on Thursday marks his first public appearance before the task force, which heard

Updated on: December 5, 2024 / 5:44 AM EST / AFP French lawmakers oust prime minister French lawmakers oust prime minister in no-confidence vote 01:31 Paris — French Prime Minister Michel Barnier on Thursday was meeting Emmanuel Macron to submit his resignation after losing a vote of no confidence in parliament, with the president urgently seeking ways to halt growing political and financial chaos. Poised to be contemporary France’s shortest-serving premier, Barnier arrived at the Elysee Palace just after 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern) for the resignation formality, with the outgoing premier and government constitutionally obliged to step down after the defeat in parliament. A majority of lawmakers supported the no-confidence vote Wednesday that was proposed by the hard-left and backed by the far-right, headed by Marine Le Pen. Barnier’s record-quick ejection comes after snap parliamentary elections this summer that resulted in a hung parliament , with no political force able to form an overall majority and the far-right holding the key to the government’s survival. French Prime Minister Michel Barnier speaks during a no-confidence debate at the National Assembly in Paris, France, Dec.

December 5, 2024 / 4:51 AM EST / CBS/AP Manila, Philippines — Philippine police officials said Thursday they were checking reports that a kidnapped American died after being shot twice while resisting his Oct. 17 abduction by gunmen in the country’s south. Elliot Eastman , 26, from Vermont, was shot twice with an M16 rifle while trying to fight off his four kidnappers, who posed as police officers, in the coastal town of Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte province, police said. The kidnappers dragged him to a motorboat and sped off, according to earlier police reports. A massive search for Eastman and his abductors led to the arrest of a number of suspects, but he has not been found. Three suspects were killed in a gunbattle with police in the south last month. A man points to a suspected bloodstain in the sand in Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte province, Philippines, Oct. 18, 2024, where abducted American YouTuber Elliot Eastman was shot by gunmen. STR/AFP/Getty Regional police spokesperson Lt. Col. Ramoncelio Sawan said investigators received information from a relative of one of the suspects that Eastman died

Little about the first month of his first season at USC had gone as Eric Musselman hoped. His USC offense struggled to score. His defense struggled to get stops. And on the glass, only a few of the 355 teams in Division I college basketball had been worse than the Trojans, who struggled to dispatch the likes of Grambling and Texas Arlington. The shortcomings of a rapidly constructed roster had become evident to USC’s coach during that eight-game stretch. But after stumbling its way through the first month of the Muss era, here was a chance, in its Big Ten debut, for USC to stem the tide of those early-season struggles. The Trojans seemed well on their way to seizing that opportunity Wednesday against Oregon, which sat atop the conference after a spotless 8-0 start. Then, in the final minutes, everything unraveled for USC in a 68-60 loss to the No. 12 Ducks. A defense that, for most of the game, appeared transformed crumbled during the final 10 minutes, as Oregon got to the line again and again — 16 times in that stretch. Oregon