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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been epically trolled as she cruised through Chinatown in a convertible during Lunar New Year celebrations. The LA Mayor was perched atop the vehicle Saturday, smiling and waving while wishing spectators a happy New Year. “Today is the day we all contribute and show our support for Chinatown,” Bass says in one video. But the tone quickly turned sour. A man filming the mayor — who appeared to identify himself as a journalist — pressed her about city budget cuts and crumbling roads, accusing her of “defunding our city.” “Make sure you vote against...

Los Angeles Fire Department officials tried to run damage control for Mayor Karen Bass before releasing findings on how the city handled the devastating Palisades fire, according to a bombshell report. An unsigned, confidential memo flagrantly admits fire officials’ goal before releasing an October after-action report on the blaze was to protect Bass and others from a backlash, the Los Angeles Times first reported. “It’s our goal to prepare and protect Mayor Bass, the City, and the LAFD from reputational harm associated with the upcoming public release of its AARR, through a comprehensive strategy that includes risk assessment, proactive and...

The full extent of the Palisades Fire report cover-up has been revealed. The California Post has obtained the first draft of the Palisades After-Action Fire Report — before it was quietly altered and released to the public. Newly uncovered edits show sweeping changes to the 92-page document that was meant to deliver a warts-and-all account of the disaster, putting more pressure on Mayor Karen Bass to explain whether her office played a role in softening the language to blunt criticism of the city’s response to a fire that killed at least 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures. Mayor...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is under fire this week after a Los Angeles Times report claiming she successfully altered in her favor a critical after-action report on the devastating southern California wildfires that killed 31 people. While Bass has repeatedly denied that she interfered with the report, the Los Angeles Times reports, citing two sources, that Bass was concerned that the city could be exposed to legal liability for its lack of preparedness and removed or softened language implicating the city. One of the key changes, according to the Los Angeles Times, was altering details about failures to fully...

Alongside his fellow Funk Brothers, Jamerson helped weave the very fabric of Tamla Motown’s imposing and infectious sound.James Jamerson didn’t really live long enough to enjoy the full limelight that has latterly shone on the Funk Brothers, the musicians who were the very essence of the Motown sound. He died on August 2, 1983, at the age of only 47. But at least, these days, many more people know his name and the indelible mark he made on the label’s first decade. arolina, Jamerson moved to Detroit with his mother when he was 18 in 1954. Originally a student...

Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson admitted Wednesday he was “in regular communication” with other mayors leading so-called “sanctuary cities” in efforts to impede enforcement of federal immigration laws. President Donald Trump called for an end to “sanctuary cities” in a post on Truth Social Monday, following a series of shootings, two of them fatal, that took place in Minneapolis involving Department of Homeland Security personnel engaged in immigration enforcement operations. Johnson said during a press conference at the National Press Club he’d been talking with Democratic Mayors Jacob Frey of Minneapolis and Michelle Wu of Boston about how to combat...

Founding Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Billy Bass has died of unspecified causes at the age of 74, two days shy of his 75th birthday. P-Funk bandleader George Clinton shared the news on social media Monday morning. Earlier this month, Clinton noted that the group was keeping Bass "in our thoughts and in our hearts," again without mentioning any specifics. As a teenager, Bass (real name: William Nelson) worked for Clinton at a barbershop. He was recruited to back his boss's vocal group, then known as the Parliaments. In his 2014 autobiography, Clinton recalled how Bass helped him write the band's first big...

"I got more water coming outta my eyes than DWP had in both of our reservoirs" -@spencerpratt Television personality Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in the Palisades Fire and has been a vocal critic in the months since of the city's and state's preparation for and response to the conflagration, announced Wednesday that he is running for mayor of Los Angeles. Speaking at a "They Let Us Burn" rally held by the Palisades Fire Residents Coalition to mark the one-year anniversary of the fire's start, the 42-year-old Pratt again repeated his complaints about authorities' handling of the blaze, then...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing intense backlash for making racially-charged comments about Hispanic Americans serving with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Bass, a Democrat, was speaking with CNN’s “The Situation Room” on a recent network feature that profiled Border Patrol and ICE agents training to work along the southern border. CNN noted that a large percentage of recruits were of Hispanic heritage and at one point asked whether they had any reservations about apprehending their “own kind.” “They didn’t come in the right way so they aren’t my kind,” one recruit said without hesitation. Border Patrol Agent...

Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Karen Bass expressed disappointment and concern Friday with Hispanics joining Border Patrol – arguing they’re only doing it for the paycheck. “Well, in a way, I think it’s sad,” Bass said of a CNN report on Border Patrol’s new recruits, many of which are Hispanic. “I think that those Border Patrol agents are going to have a difficult time when they’re out in the field and they see what actually happens in real life separate from their training,” the mayor told “The Situation Room” host Wolf Blitzer. The report Bass was asked to respond to included...

If you’ve ever thought of visiting the crocodile-shaped island of Cuba, or run into someone recently returned from sultry nights in the country’s salsa halls, there’s a good chance you’ll have heard the phrase “See it before it changes.” And I don’t mean because of Hurricane Melissa. The idea is that the centrally planned communist state, one of the last on Earth, will soon morph into America and a balmy Brigadoon full of people unencumbered by money, modern cars or Alexa will evaporate. I think most people, if they knew what Cubans have endured, wouldn’t use that phrase, which is...

As the traditional entertainment industry continues to contract, Hollywood’s allure to visitors clearly loses its appeal — and that has massive implications for L.A., which for decades has counted on Hollywood to bring in billions in tourism dollars. According to the Hollywood Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to the beautification and economic vitality of the neighborhood, foot traffic around the entertainment district has dropped about 50 percent the past year and has never fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. And it’s clear why: The area is neglected, dirty, uncomfortable to be in. Plus, what is there really to see or do in...

Anthony Jackson, the session legend widely credited with pioneering the six-string bass, has died aged 73. The news has been confirmed by high-end bass manufacturer Fodera Guitars, with whom Jackson worked very closely. Jazz fusion virtuoso Al Di Meola has also paid tribute to Jackson’s inventive legacy. “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Anthony Jackson – one of the most visionary and influential bassists in the history of our instrument,” Fodera Guitars wrote. “Anthony’s impact extended far beyond the notes he played,” it says. “He pioneered the concept of the six-string ‘contrabass guitar,’ revolutionizing the role...

The Altamaha bass has light gold scales with olive margins, darker brown blotches on their sides and orange on the edges of their fins. Credit: Special ============================================================================ Bartram’s and Altamaha bass, first identified in the 1980s, are now officially recognized as distinct species. Researchers at the University of Georgia have formally identified two previously unrecognized species of black bass in a newly published study: Bartram’s bass and Altamaha bass. Though descriptions of the two species are new, sightings of the fish are not. Ecologist Bud Freeman first encountered Micropterus pucpuggy, now known as Bartram’s bass, in the 1980s. A couple...

>I? Seen as a face-off between the old and new guards in jazz, Duke Ellington’s ‘Money Jungle’ album proved they were on the same continuum. First released in 1962 via the United Artists label, Duke Ellington’s collaboration with bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach, Money Jungle, was a momentous jazz summit. Though often seen as the moment where the old guard (Ellington) squared up to jazz music’s young lions (Mingus and Roach), the generational differences between its three participants are often exaggerated. Certainly, Ellington was entering his twilight years – he had just turned 63 – but Mingus, then...

Cameras captured the wild moment when dozens of people on minibikes blocked an intersection in Downtown Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The video posted on Citizen.com showed the riders blocking traffic while performing stunts at the intersection of Francisco Street and West 8th Street, not far from the 110 Freeway. Witnesses reported seeing the group riding throughout the Downtown L.A. area the rest of the day. It was unclear whether any arrests were made or if the police ever intervened.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass repeatedly dodged answering directly on whether all illegal immigrants in the sanctuary city should be allowed to stay. In an interview with ABC's "This Week," Bass further criticized President Donald Trump's decision to federalize 4,000 National Guard troops and deploy about 700 Marines to Los Angeles amid anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots and protests. The Democratic mayor was questioned by ABC host Martha Raddatz on who she thinks should be deported – whether that should be just people convicted of crimes – given Los Angeles has about a million "undocumented workers." "What should happen...

Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, a critic of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, is being mocked for pushing a story about an LA woman being kidnapped by ICE that ended up allegedly being an elaborate hoax. The Department of Homeland Security posted on its official X account on Friday, "Mayor, you pushed a HOAX. There is still time to delete this." This comes after Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, a 41-year-old Mexican illegal alien living in Los Angeles, was charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers, according to the DOJ. On July 1, Bass posted a link...

The City of Los Angeles has declared itself to be in a state of rebellion against federal law. See Mayor Karen Bass’s executive directive, which officially aligns the city on the side of lawbreakers–in many cases, violent lawbreakers–and against the rule of law.Violence against federal law enforcement officers has gotten out of hand. Most recently, in executing a raid on a marijuana farm in California, federal agents were attacked by a mob of 500 rioters and fired upon. They made 200 arrests and rescued ten children who were being exploited as laborers.Outraged at escalating violence against law enforcement, President Trump...

During an interview with FOXLA on Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that she didn’t know what the mission of federal agents in MacArthur Park was but wanted to get them to leave and “having it look like there are troops on the ground, that could create a crowd, and then we could have a lot of problems. So, instead of solving problems, they’re creating problems.” Bass began by saying, “I was horrified. What went through my mind was those occasions when I would travel overseas and see a city or a country under siege by their military in...