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The Brief

The most important stories for you to know today
  • Bari Weiss announces new hires
    CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss said she will make the news division "fit for purpose in the 21st Century" at an all-staff meeting Tuesday, in which she outlined her strategy.

    Staffing changes: Weiss announced the hiring of 18 paid commentators — on subjects ranging from national security to health and wellness — as part of an effort to "widen the aperture of the stories we tell and the voices we listen to." They include HR McMaster, who served as national security advisor during the first Trump administration; Reihan Salam, the president of the conservative Manhattan Institute; and the historian Niall Ferguson. She also cited several new hires who are going to produce original reports from Kyiv, London and New York City with a social media-first approach. Weiss is expected to make significant cuts to the newsroom, though she did not address them in her remarks.

    The background: A former conservative opinion writer and editor for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Weiss was hired last fall by Paramount's new controlling owner, David Ellison, to shake up CBS's news division as it came under renewed attack from the Trump administration. In her brief tenure, Weiss has alienated much of the staff of 60 Minutes, the crown jewel of the news division, sought to reinvent the CBS Evening News, and questioned whether her own journalists have been fair or worthy of Americans' trust in the past. She has said she wants to appeal to centrist Americans on the right and left.

    CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss said she will make the news division "fit for purpose in the 21st Century" at an all-staff meeting Tuesday, in which she outlined her strategy.

    Weiss announced the hiring of 18 paid commentators — on subjects ranging from national security to health and wellness — as part of an effort to "widen the aperture of the stories we tell and the voices we listen to." They include HR McMaster, who served as national security advisor during the first Trump administration; Reihan Salam, the president of the conservative Manhattan Institute; and the historian Niall Ferguson.

    She also cited several new hires who are going to produce original reports from Kyiv, London and New York City with a social media-first approach. And she said she only wants top-flight performers committed to her approach to stick around.

    Weiss is expected to make significant cuts to the newsroom, though she did not address them in her remarks.

    Weiss has expressed exuberance about the task she confronts at CBS, ranked third behind NBC and ABC, and an eagerness to learn about broadcast news. She has said she wants to appeal to independently minded Americans. And she says the news division has not — until now —addressed the fundamental reasons that she believes it is losing audience: a sharp drop in public trust in the mainstream media and a huge spike in competition for viewers' attention.

    "We all must focus first on what we're building, not what we're maintaining. On how we are going to reach an audience exponentially bigger than the one we have now," Weiss said, according to prepared remarks shared by the network with NPR and other outlets. She said that she would do that by "marrying the journalistic principles that will never change — seeking the truth, serving the public, and ferociously guarding our independence — with the tools that constantly are." (The network said Weiss hewed closely to her prepared text.)

    "We can still do what the Wild West of social media cannot," she said.

    First months marked by controversy

    In her brief tenure, Weiss has alienated much of the staff of 60 Minutes, the crown jewel of the news division; sought to reinvent the CBS Evening News; and questioned whether CBS journalists have been fair or worthy of Americans' trust in the past.

    This story also draws on interviews with eight current and former CBS News journalists. All of those still at the network spoke on condition they not be named, citing professional repercussions. Several noted that Weiss has told staffers she welcomes internal debate but cannot abide public dissent.

    While Weiss has been welcomed by some CBS journalists, including Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford, others have taken issue with her style of leadership and the editorial choices that have followed her arrival.

    In addition, liberal critics outside the network have blasted her, alleging that she is doing the handiwork of the networks' owners, who are allies of President Trump and are seeking his blessing in their bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Weiss has rejected that assertion, though she declined to comment for this story through a spokesperson.

    Weiss brought in to reshape CBS News

    A former conservative opinion writer and editor for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Weiss was hired last fall by Paramount's new controlling owner, David Ellison, to shake up CBS's news division as it came under renewed attack from the Trump administration.

    The previous owners of Paramount had paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump as a private individual over the editing of a fall 2024 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. That helped clear the way for approval from Trump's chief broadcast regulator, who additionally secured promises from Ellison of an ombudsman to field complaints of ideological bias.

    Paramount also acquired Weiss's center-right digital startup, The Free Press, for $150 million. The Substack views-and-news site has approximately 170,000 paying subscribers and is built on the proposition that most of the mainstream media is reflexively liberal, though it does sometimes offer coverage that is critical of Trump.

    She has been personally involved in remapping the CBS Evening News.

    Ahead of his debut as the new anchor of the Evening News, CBS's Tony Dokoupil said the press has too often missed the story.

    "Because we've taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites and not enough on you," he wrote in an online post on Jan. 1. "At certain points, I have been you. I have felt this way too. I have felt like what I was seeing and hearing on the news didn't reflect what I was seeing and hearing in my own life."

    On Instagram, Dokoupil wrote in response to a critic: "I can promise you we'll be more accountable and more transparent than Cronkite or any one else of his era."

    His comment was taken as an affront by some of his colleagues, according to four people at the network's news division. Walter Cronkite, the iconic CBS anchor who narrated the death of President John F. Kennedy, humanity's ascent to the Moon, and the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon for tens of millions of Americans, embodied the definition of the TV news anchor for the modern era.

    The internal tensions erupted into public view in December. Less than two days before broadcast, Weiss decided to hold a 60 Minutes story on the alleged abuse of immigrants sent to an El Salvador detention center where the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants last March.

    She said the segment wasn't ready, though it had been reviewed and approved by CBS News lawyers and video excerpts had been released publicly to promote the segment. Weiss later said she would not be rushed into approving it for air.

    The incident became public and sparked an enormous outcry. Yet, when the story aired this month, it had not changed appreciably. (The initial version was available from a Canadian distributor that had mistakenly already loaded it for streaming subscribers.)

    The story ended up running almost exactly as it had been prepared, with an extra element documenting the written comments of Trump administration officials and CBS's efforts to get them to come on camera for an interview.

    According to someone who attended Tuesday's meeting, Weiss conceded making a mistake on the 60 Minutes story, saying she had not understood how the timing of her decision would throw the show into disarray. Yet she did not back down from the merits of her decision, which she grounded in the desire to get a Trump administration official to speak about the matter on camera.

    Initial CBS Evening News coverage choices prove divisive

    Less well known are some of the incidents involving the Evening News that inspired internal discomfort.

    Weiss and top producers had drawn up plan to fly Dokoupil around the country to underscore his desire to talk to Americans outside elite circles in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

    Yet since Dokoupil's debut in early January, CBS has taken an Evening News segment off the air called "Eye On America," on since 2024, that had been doing just that.

    On the first night, executives pulled Dokoupil back to New York City to cover the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The second night was Jan. 6 and Dokoupil was in Miami. Major news organizations, including NPR and the New York Times, offered new projects about what had been learned in the five years since the siege of the U.S. Capitol.

    Dokoupil offered this scant reference: "President Trump today accused Democrats of failing to prevent the attack on the Capitol, while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused the president of 'whitewashing' it." The he-said, he-said formulation lasted about 15 seconds.

    That prompted denunciations from outside critics. Sarah Longwell, the founder and publisher of the center-right, anti-Trump publication The Bulwark, wrote on X: "Trump is getting exactly what his rich buddy paid for."

    Ellison's takeover of Paramount was financed by his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. The elder Ellison is a Trump adviser who encouraged his efforts to contest the 2020 race.

    CBS Justice Correspondent Scott MacFarlane took great exception to Dokoupil's Jan. 6 broadcast, according to two people inside the network who spoke on condition they not be named.

    MacFarlane has spent the past five years covering the attack on the U.S. Congress, drawing upon evidence presented in court to document the effort to deny the formal certification of President Joe Biden's win in the 2020 race.

    He did not appear on the air on CBS News this Jan. 6. Instead, as he posted on the social media platform X, MacFarlane appeared on the BBC. It lasted nearly four-and-a-half-minutes.

    "Here's my deep dive on the 5-year mark of Jan 6," MacFarlane wrote. "The ongoing impact on victims, the lies... and the continued malignant corrosion of democracy[.] As aired on.... The BBC."

    At the tail of that night's broadcast from Miami, Dokoupil hailed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a prominent Floridian in a flippant segment at the end. The anchor noted his key role in the administration — including on Venezuela — and shared AI-generated social media memes envisioning Rubio in a variety of roles, including as a hunter, the Michelin Man, and the leader of Greenland.

    "Marco Rubio, we salute you," Dokoupil deadpanned. The light-hearted approach to the minute-long segment so close to the Venezuelan military action delighted the Trump White House and stirred backlash from journalists.

    A White House threat over Trump interview

    Weiss has personally gotten involved to secure major interviews in her drive for the network to make and break news.

    Dokoupil landed several big-name interviews including with Trump and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. The Independent reported Hegseth said he only did the interview because Weiss asked. The New York Times posted audio showing that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt threatened to sue CBS at the end of the interview with Trump if it was not run in full, unedited. Dokoupil said it would.

    In a statement, CBS News said the network had already made "the independent decision to air it unedited and in its entirety."

    Several current and former CBS journalists pointed to another instance that appeared to pull a punch that could land hard on the Trump administration. Correspondent Nicole Sganga broke down video footage of the deadly shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a federal immigration officer. A retired ICE agent who watched the footage frame by frame with CBS said the officer appeared to act improperly.

    The segment streamed on the YouTube page of CBS Evening News. But it did not air on the flagship news program.

    "There are always growing pains when you start something new," says former CBS News President Andrew Heyward, citing the reinvention of CBS Evening News with Dokoupil as anchor. "Those growing pains have been exacerbated by today's polarized political atmosphere and execution errors."

    "Now comes the hard slog of, day after day, drawing on CBS News's journalistic capacities to do original reporting that delivers real value to the existing audience and attracts new people without chasing away the people who like what they see," Heyward says.

    Weiss told staffers Tuesday that she's thinking of CBS News as a start-up.

    "If we all do our jobs right, in a year's time CBS News will look very different," Weiss said in her prepared remarks. "But start-ups aren't for everyone. They're places that move at rapid speed. They experiment. They try new things. They sometimes create noise and, yes, bad press!"

    "If that's not your bag... that's okay," Weiss added. "But if what I'm describing sounds exciting and exhilarating to you... I am here to work very hard alongside you. What I can promise you in return is a common, shared purpose, the freedom to do great work and to see it aggressively promoted, and the stability and support you deserve."

    • Settlement reached over emergency insurance hikes
      The charred remains of homes where support beans and a staircase are left on a beach.
      The rubble of homes that burned down on Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu as a result of the Palisades Fire.

      Topline:

      State Farm reaches settlement over emergency insurance rate hikes after last year’s Los Angeles County fires.

      Why it matters: State Farm, the largest insurer in the state with about 20% market share, received approval for unprecedented emergency insurance rate increases in California last May. The company told the state that the billions of dollars it expected to pay out after the deadly fires placed it in financial peril.

      Why now: The proposed deal among the state Insurance Department, consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog and State Farm, disclosed late last week, comes after months of public hearings convened by the insurance department and settlement talks.

      Read on... for more from the proposed settlement.

      The Los Angeles County fires last year drove up insurance costs for many Californians. Now, a proposed settlement means some State Farm policyholders whose premiums rose won’t see additional increases, and others should even get refunds.

      State Farm, the largest insurer in the state with about 20% market share, received approval for unprecedented emergency insurance rate increases in California last May. The company told the state that the billions of dollars it expected to pay out after the deadly fires placed it in financial peril.

      The proposed deal among the state Insurance Department, consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog and State Farm, disclosed late last week, comes after months of public hearings convened by the insurance department and settlement talks.

      Consumer Watchdog, which questioned the rate increases State Farm asked for, says the settlement saves the company’s California policyholders a total of $530 million. From the proposed settlement:

      • Homeowners’ rate hikes will stay at the previously approved interim rate of 17% instead of the 30% the company sought.
      • Condo owners who saw interim rate hikes of 15% will see their rates drop to an increase of 5.8%, and get refunds with interest dating back to June 1, 2025.
      • Rental unit owners with interim rate hikes of 38% will see those increases drop to 32.8%, and receive refunds with interest. 
      • Renter policyholders will see an increase of 15.65% vs. the interim rate hike of 15%.

      In addition, State Farm has agreed not to cancel any new policies this year, and it won’t be canceling some policies it had planned not to renew in wildfire-affected areas. The insurance department characterized those provisions as important to the continued stability of the state’s insurance market, which has been beset with availability and affordability issues.

      “When consumer advocates are able to challenge the data and present their own analysis, excessive requests are reduced and consumers are protected,” said Harvey Rosenfield in a statement. Rosenfield founded Consumer Watchdog and wrote Proposition 103, the voter-approved law that governs insurance in California.

      State Farm has paid out more than $5 billion in claims from the L.A.-area fires so far, said spokesperson Tom Hartmann.

      After consumer complaints and lawsuits, the insurance department is investigating the company’s handling of claims from the fires and expects results from that examination later this spring.

      The agreement, which must be approved by an administrative law judge, also requires State Farm to undergo additional review of its rates in 2027. The company will be required to make a one time 2.5% premium discount available to renewing policyholders if its ratio of premiums to available cash reaches a certain level; Consumer Watchdog litigation director Will Pletcher said the deal will give the group more timely access to the company’s annual financial statements to help keep it accountable.

      The insurance department expects the judge to decide on the settlement by April 7. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will then review the judge’s decision and have the final say.

      This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

    • Sponsored message
    • Purported first statement from Supreme Leader

      Topline:

      Iran's state media issued what it said was a statement by Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, vowing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and keep up attacks on U.S. bases in the region, as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran entered its 13th day.


      The Strait of Hormuz: The Iranian statement said the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for a fifth of the world's oil supply, should remain closed. It said Iran continues to believe in friendship with its neighbors but will continue targeting U.S. bases in the region. "The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must undoubtedly continue to be used.," the statement said, according to an English version published by Tasnim News Agency, run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

      Unclear of statement's authenticity: It was purported to be the new leader's first statement since he succeeded his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war. It's unclear if the statement was from Mojtaba Khamenei himself. There's been speculation about the leader's current condition and whereabouts. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, told NPR that Khamenei was lightly injured early in the war.

      Iran's state media issued what it said was a statement by Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, vowing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and keep up attacks on U.S. bases in the region, as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran entered its 13th day.

      It was purported to be the new leader's first statement since he succeeded his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war.

      The statement said Iran will avenge the blood of its "martyrs," including the victims of a March 1 attack on a girls school in the city of Minab, which Iranian officials say killed at least 165 people, many of them children. NPR has confirmed the U.S. military is investigating how it could have targeted the school.

      The Iranian statement said the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for a fifth of the world's oil supply, should remain closed. It said Iran continues to believe in friendship with its neighbors but will continue targeting U.S. bases in the region.

      "The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must undoubtedly continue to be used.," the statement said, according to an English version published by Tasnim News Agency, run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

      It's unclear if the statement was from Mojtaba Khamenei himself. Another person was heard reading out the remarks on Iranian state media, with a photo of Khamenei posted on the TV screen, as it was broadcast around the world.

      There's been speculation about the leader's current condition and whereabouts. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, told NPR that Khamenei was lightly injured early in the war.

      This is a developing story that will be updated.


      Here are other major updates about the conflict.

      To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below:

      Attacks on vessels | Oil stockpiles | Strikes across the Gulf | Israel-Hezbollah escalation | Iranian school attack


      Two oil tankers hit in Iraqi waters

      Two oil tankers were hit in Iraqi territorial waters near the southern port area of Basra, Iraqi officials said Thursday. It is the first oil-related strike reported in Iraq's waters during more than a week of war, in another sign of the conflict's escalation.

      Iran, a critical ally of Iraq, took responsibility for attacking one of the tankers, which it said was owned by the U.S.

      A port official said the attack targeted vessels near Basra's port approaches, and Iraq's security spokesman described it as sabotage.

      Iraqi officials said one person was killed, and 38 crew members were rescued, with search operations continuing.

      Iran has stepped up attacks on energy infrastructure and commercial shipping in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes, warning that the world should brace for oil prices to double.

      — Jane Arraf


      U.S. and allies to release record oil stockpiles  

      The U.S. confirmed it will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a coordinated International Energy Agency (IEA) release of 400 million barrels from emergency stockpiles.

      The U.S. contribution amounts to roughly 40% of the total, to be released gradually over about four months.

      The IEA's executive director, Fatih Birol, said the goal is to keep the supply of oil flowing as the conflict disrupts shipping routes and energy infrastructure. But analysts warn stockpile releases can only partially offset prolonged disruption in the Gulf, where roughly a fifth of global oil consumption normally transits the Strait of Hormuz.

      On Wednesday, President Trump said the price spike is temporary and said the reserve release would push prices down.

      According to the popular app Gas Buddy, the current average cost of regular unleaded is now up to $3.61 a gallon.

      - Camila Domonoske


      Iran continues attacks on Gulf States

      Countries in the Gulf reported new incoming threats and interceptions Thursday, as Iran continued firing drones and missiles across the region – including at U.S. military bases.

      The UAE's defense ministry said air defenses were responding to Iranian missile and drone attacks, and that sounds heard in parts of the country were from intercepts.

      Kuwait's defense ministry said its air defenses intercepted ballistic missiles and drones that penetrated the northern and southern parts of the country's airspace.

      Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed drones headed toward the Shaybah oil field.

      The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday condemning Iran for recent attacks across the Persian Gulf region, calling them a "breach of international law" and "a serious threat to international peace and security."

      - Rebecca Rosman


      Israel launches large strikes on Hezbollah sites in Beirut after rocket fire into Israel

      People inspect homes damaged by a projectile launched from Lebanon, in Haniel central Israel, on Thursday.
      (
      Baz Ratner
      /
      AP
      )

      The militant group Hezbollah launched its biggest rocket attack against Israel since the start of the war with Iran. The Israeli military said the Iranian-backed group fired heavy volleys toward northern Israel overnight into Thursday, triggering interceptions and sending residents repeatedly into shelters.

      The Israeli military responded by launching more attacks against what it said were Hezbollah launch sites and command infrastructure.

      Huge booms were heard across the capital and large black smoke billowed from the Dahieh neighborhood in south Beirut, while an attack in central Beirut – where thousands of people are displaced – killed 8 people and injured 31, according to Lebanese officials.

      Wide evacuation orders for south Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs have displaced at least 800,000 people so far, according to the Lebanese government.

      Lebanon, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has unusually called for direct talks with Israel to end the escalating fighting with Hezbollah. Israel has not officially responded.

      Israeli strikes on Iran have continued, with Iran firing missiles at Israel intermittently, including overnight.

      Israeli military officials say about half of the missiles Iran has launched at Israel have carried cluster warheads, which spread out into smaller bombs over a wider area – increasing the risk to civilians.

      - Daniel Estrin, Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Rebecca Rosman


      Pentagon: Preliminary assessment suggests U.S. likely responsible for strike on Iranian school

      The Pentagon has opened a formal investigation into the missile strike on an Iranian girls school that killed at least 165 civilians, many of them children, after a preliminary assessment suggested the U.S. was at fault, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The investigation is expected to take months and will include interviews with all those involved, from planners and commanders to those who carried out the strike.

      If a U.S. role in the attack is confirmed, it would rank among the military's most deadly incidents involving civilians in decades. Congress created a special Pentagon office to prevent the accidental targeting of civilians but it was dramatically scaled back by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth soon after he took office last year.

      "This investigation is ongoing. As we have said, unlike the terrorist Iranian regime, the United States does not target civilians," said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.

      The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

      NPR previously reported — based on commercial satellite imagery and independent expert analysis — that the strike was more extensive than initially reported and appeared consistent with a precision strike on a nearby military complex, raising questions about whether outdated targeting information contributed to the tragedy.

      - Tom Bowman, Kat Lonsdorf, Geoff Brumfiel

      Rebecca Rosman contributed to this report from Paris, Jane Arraf from Erbil, Iraq, Hadeel Al-Shalchi from Beirut, Daniel Estrin from Tel Aviv and Camila Domonoske, Tom Bowman, Kat Lonsdorf and Geoff Brumfiel from Washington.
      Copyright 2026 NPR

    • Mural hits a bump on its way to K-town
      LAFC forward Son Heung-min, a man with medium skin tone, wearing a black and gold-striped soccer jersey, smiles as he gives an "LA" sign with his hands.
      LAFC forward Son Heung-min during a MLS match between FC Dallas and the Los Angeles Football Club at Toyota Stadium.

      Topline:

      If you’re a soccer fan — or just a fan of South Korean phenom Son Heung-min — you may have heard that the Los Angeles Football Club planned to put up a larger-than-life mural of the footballer in Koreatown last month. But the mural has yet to appear.

      More details: LAFC planned to reveal the mural during the launch of their 2026/2027 jersey at The LINE Hotel. Now the reveal has been pushed back to sometime in June.

      Why now: The delay stems from issues with the city’s mural approval process, at least according to city officials.

      Read on... for more about the mural of Son Heung-min.

      The story first appeared on The LA Local.

      If you’re a soccer fan — or just a fan of South Korean phenom Son Heung-min — you may have heard that the Los Angeles Football Club planned to put up a larger-than-life mural of the footballer in Koreatown last month. But the mural has yet to appear. 

      LAFC planned to reveal the mural during the launch of their 2026/2027 jersey at The LINE Hotel. Now the reveal has been pushed back to sometime in June. 

      The delay stems from issues with the city’s mural approval process, at least according to city officials. 

      Gabriel Cifarelli, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, said they received a mural registration application for the site. But the department said it could not issue a notice to proceed because the application was “ineligible and incomplete” under the city’s mural ordinance and administrative rules.

      “DCA staff offered the applicant advice and further guidance, and remains available for questions,” Cifarelli said. 

      If a mural includes a team logo it is considered an advertisement and not original artwork, according to the city department. In that case, the permit must be issued through the city’s Building and Safety Department.

      A new application has not been submitted through the mural program, Cifarelli said, and it was not immediately clear whether LAFC applied for a permit through the Building and Safety Department. 

      LAFC spokesperson Danny Sanchez didn’t confirm if a new permit has been submitted.

      “The mural unveil was rescheduled to June to better align with World Cup festivities,” Sanchez said. 

      Dave Young Kim was commissioned to paint the mural and previously painted a Son mural on the side of the Crosby building in Koreatown in October, but that was only up for a few weeks.

      He still plans to paint the mural on The LINE Hotel in June.

      “I’m assuming at this point, LAFC is likely trying to line it up for a more opportune time,” said Kim. “The mural was originally supposed to line up with the launch of the new jersey so something similar.”

      Leo Hernandez, 35, said he hopes the mural goes up before the World Cup.

      “I didn’t know it was pushed back all the way to June,” he said. “I’ll be in Mexico for the World Cup.”

      Hernandez, who goes by “El Soccer Guy” on Instagram and has nearly 50,000 followers, has been attending LAFC games since 2018. He said Son’s arrival to L.A. has brought a new wave of fans to the club.

      “I’ve never seen so many Koreans,” he said. “He’s bringing a whole new community to LAFC. I don’t know if they love soccer or they love Son or both, but it’s amazing to see.”

      “Son is starting to be my favorite on the team,” he added. “He’s so good. He wants the team to shine. And I love his positivity and energy.” 

    • Real locations ground the MCU show
      A Black man (L) and an older white man (R) stand facing each other at what looks like a lookout point facing a downtown area. The tops of trees are in the foreground, behind a metal fence. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, with short black hair and a beard, is the man on the left, standing with one arm on the black metal railing and another on his hip. He is wearing jeans, socks, and a gray sweatshirt. He is talking to Ben Kingsley on the right, who is wearing a burgundy blazer with pocket square and navy blue pants and brown leather shoes. He has a gray goatee and shoulder length hair and has his right hand outstretched, facing down.
      Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley in a scene from “Wonder Man.”

      Topline:

      There’s a lot of real Los Angeles mixed into the recent MCU series “Wonder Man,” now on Disney+, which makes for a version of the MCU that feels a little more grounded in reality, especially for Angelenos.

      The context: Wonder Man is an action-comedy about two struggling actors also dealing with superhuman forces and secret government agencies — think The Studio meets Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's part of the Marvel Universe, but also feels accessible to viewers not that familiar with the MCU. Showrunner Andrew Guest told LAist that was by design, and was helped by grounding the show in an realistic portrayal of life in Los Angeles.

      Read on ... for more about the real L.A. locations featured in Season 1, and why a Season 2 (if it does happen) might film elsewhere.

      The Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about people with superpowers living in a world very much like our own.

      And there’s a lot of real Los Angeles mixed into the recent MCU series “Wonder Man,” now on Disney+, which makes for a version of the MCU that feels a little more grounded in reality, especially for Angelenos.

      It's an action-comedy about two struggling actors also dealing with superhuman forces and secret government agencies. Think The Studio meets Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

      Sir Ben Kingsley reprises his Iron Man 3 character Trevor Slattery, the messy British actor hired to play a bad guy called The Mandarin. And Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man.

      Through their adventures trying to book the gig-of-a-lifetime while surviving the perils of the MCU, L.A. landmarks and cultural references abound, and ground the series in a relatability for many Angelenos, including lots of inside jokes for those working in the entertainment industry.

      3 cultural references that make Wonder Man feel like real Los Angeles

      Historic places, some we’ve had to part with

      There’s a series of roughly 100-year-old small, independent movie houses used as locations in Wonder Man — the Eagle Theatre now home to Vidiots, Westwood's Village Theater now operated by American Cinematheque (with views of The Bruin Theater across the street), and the Highland Theatre which closed in 2024.

      A close up on a Black man wearing a black turtleneck, a red blazer, and sunglasses with red colored lenses. The back of a the head of a woman with black wavy hair is visible to the right and he is looking at her. Behind him a neon sign reads "Bruin."
      A scene from 'Wonder Man' on Disney +.
      (
      Marvel Television
      )

      Speaking of iconic L.A. spots breaking local hearts, the vintage bar within Echo Park’s Taix French Restaurant was used as an interior location for the series. Taix is closing at the end of the month to make way for new development.

      “Taix, the Highland Park Theatre — these places that it was only three years ago were there,” Wonder Man showrunner Andrew Guest told LAist, “a lot of these establishments sadly, are not surviving. And this town is in a rough, rough place.”

      (Though actor/director Kristen Stewart recently said in an interview with Architectural Digest that she bought The Highland Theatre and is restoring the building.)

      L.A. traffic (especially around the Hollywood Bowl on a performance night)

      Traffic is part of life in Los Angeles and with so many scenes shot in Hollywood, even the main characters of Wonder Man must experience that bumper-to-bumper frustration.

      Though, because it is a TV show, they were able to indulge in the fantasy of beating that traffic in a way that in reality would be highly dangerous (and illegal).

      “We got to shut down Sunset Boulevard for a little while to shoot a car going onto the sidewalk in front of the Palladium,” said Guest. And surprisingly, he explained, they didn’t have to shoot in the middle of the night to make the shot happen: “That was Friday night…. We didn't close all lanes of traffic. The street was open. We were shooting while Los Angeles was still going strong.”

      The scene also references the frequent traffic back up during big shows at the Hollywood Bowl, even earning the show a social media repost of the scene from Chaka Khan.

      Having family and friends 45 minutes away, who you rarely visit

      Wonder Man includes an episode titled Pacoima where the main character visits his family and childhood home.

      “My wife grew up in Chatsworth, and one of the things I found fascinating about her experience growing up there was that many of her friends and their families never went to Los Angeles,” said Guest.

      “The idea that Simon grew up close to, but far enough away that Hollywood and Los Angeles did not feel like they were part of his life…so when he moved to the city, Pacoima is not a place he goes to a lot. And I feel like that's a part of L.A. that is true to this city. That doesn't get explored a lot and felt like it was another detail that we got to sort of throw into the show.”

      There’s lots of other Southern California. references to enjoy from the Talmadge Apartments, an historic renaissance revival building on Wilshire Blvd., a mural of Danny Trejo, and even a cameo from Gisellle Fernandes, real-life L.A. broadcaster for Spectrum 1 News.

      Should you get lost in the multi-verse, at least this L.A will be pretty familiar.

      BONUS: Could there be a Season 2 of Wonder Man? And would it still be set in L.A.?

      Guest couldn’t confirm anything about a possible Season 2, but told LAist, “It’s still on the table as an option, potentially."

      As for whether a potential Season 2 would also film in Los Angeles and continue to highlight the city in new ways, Guest said it’s occurred to him that one of the best ways to write about Hollywood could be “ to send our show somewhere else because everybody in this town who's working has to move — whether it be Budapest or London or Ireland or Vancouver — very little is actually happening in this town. And that’s a story that I don’t think is being told right now about L.A.”

      Season 1 of ‘Wonder Man’ is now streaming on Disney+.

      Watch Julia Paskin's interview with actor/comedian X Mayo, who plays Simon Williams' agent in 'Wonder Man':