The Brief

If you’re hanging out in downtown Burbank this weekend, you might run into a group of friends wearing a mix of bespoke suits and bright pink ensembles.

Ian Zandi has a tradition of getting his friends to dress up and go out for his birthday. In 2021, they dressed as Ryan Gosling. In 2022, it was Tom Hanks.

This year, his birthday weekend coincides with the release of two highly anticipated summer blockbuster films — “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” With his 30th birthday approaching, it was go big or go home.

He sent out a Facebook invite, “We all dress up and see BARBENHEIMER double feature.” The plan: to watch both movies back-to-back dressed as either a character from Barbie’s DreamHouse, or a far grittier WWII-era Los Alamos.

Zandi’s event is open to the public, but he’s definitely not the only person planning to view the movies together. As you may know by now, “Barbenheimer” is a full-blown internet phenomenon.

The Barbenheimer phenomenon

“I didn’t know they were using that specific phrase,” Zandi says. “It just happened by coincidence. I planned this a few months ago, I had no idea.”

“Barbie” is a feminist telling of the story behind the Mattel Barbie doll from indie director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women). “Oppenheimer” is a dark, historically-grounded drama on the man behind the Manhattan Project and invention of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, from director Christopher Nolan (Inception, Interstellar, Memento).

The two movies opened on July 21. This idea of two blockbuster films catered to different audiences being pitted against each other on opening weekend is not a novel concept. It actually has a name — counterprogramming.

But, despite their diametrically opposed aesthetics and themes, the hype behind the two films is deeply intertwined.

Social media is overrun with memes around Barbenheimer. Fans of Nolan v. Gerwig, the film-bros v. the girlies, and on top of it all the most important question: which one are you watching first?

Thousands of Americans have purchased their tickets to see “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” opening weekend. AMC has reported that 40,000 of its reward members have tickets to both. After many dormant years at theaters, this weekend is headed to be one of the largest in recent history.

In L.A. — the home of Hollywood — the impact is apparent.

Tickets to see “Oppenheimer” in its intended IMAX 70mm at AMC Universal City and the TCL Chinese Theater (two of 30 theaters offering the format in the US) are sold out for the weekend, and beyond. “Barbie” is plastered on bright pink benches in the city, and there’s a real-life Barbie DreamHouse in Malibu on AirBnb.

Counterprogramming turned “complementary-programming”

Barbenheimer is the newest entry in the strategy of counterprogramming. Once relatively common, counterprogramming is when two studios release very different movies on the same weekend. The intended effect is to provide two distinct audiences a movie to see that weekend, driving up box office numbers on a whole. Stereotypically, it would look like pairing a high-octane action film with a girly romcom.

A popular example is the 2008 opening weekend of “The Dark Knight” and “Mamma Mia.” The two movies saw an epic box office battle — “The Dark Knight” won with $155.3 million, followed by “Mamma Mia” with a substantial $27.6 million.

However, over the past decade, counterprogramming has fell out of fashion. Some blame the towering popularity of superhero movies in the 2010s — particularly from Marvel — for decimating competition between other blockbusters. Additionally, with the pandemic’s blow to the theater industry, it’s no surprise that blockbusters are not often making it to movie screens on the same weekend.

But, Barbenheimer has brought counterprogramming back to theaters, at least for this summer. The two films come from competing studios — Barbie distributed by Warner Bros. and Oppenheimer by Universal. Yet, they’re a unique entry to the strategy’s cannon.

“We don't view it as a competition or counterprogramming. We view it more as complementary programming,” says Mia Lee Vicino, the West Coast Editor for Letterboxd, and a co-host of The Letterboxd Show podcast. (Letterboxd is a social media platform that hosts an online community of avid movie watchers.)

Unlike counterprogramming of the past, Barbenheimer has become a full-blown double feature. They’ve been grouped together as an inseparable viewing pair, instead of alternative film-going experiences.

On Letterboxd, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are neck and neck. Ahead of the release, 240,000 users had “Oppenheimer” on their watchlist, while 290,000 included “Barbie.”

How did Barbenheimer develop this shared fanbase?

“Comedy can come from incongruence,” explains Vicino. “Barbenheimer is simply funny.”

It’s true: the internet loves contrast. Think of those two neighboring houses in Santa Monica — one colorful, and the other completely black — that make their rounds online. (Yes, they are attached to a Barbenheimer meme now too.)

Beyond the humor, Vicino also cited Nolan and Gerwig’s reputation and their star-studded casts as drivers of popularity. Both directors are Oscar winners, and early reviews have awarded “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” with an 89 percent and 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.

The industry has high hopes that this weekend’s face-off might be the jump start theaters across the country need. Nolan’s last film “Tenet,” released in 2021, saw dismal performance in the box office with viewers largely opting to view it on streaming. Movie theater attendance has long been facing a decline with people opting to stay home, even before the pandemic

Family-friendly Barbie is looking to rake in $110 million opening weekend, and Oppenheimer is expected to generate $50 million.

There’s no doubt that the online phenomenon around the films is what’s drawing people to the theaters.

“I think if it is successful — and I think it will be — studios will try and replicate it,” Zandi noted. “But, you can't replicate naturally what the audience wants.”

It’s unclear whether “complimentary programming” will stick around. Memes have already started to pop up pairing the upcoming winter releases of the whimsical “Wonka” movie starring Timothee Chalamet and the historical drama “Napoleon” starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Barbenheimer is set to have a dramatic impact on the industry, and could alter culture around going to theaters for the foreseeable future.

So, put on your sparkliest outfits or classiest fedora, and head to your local theater this weekend.

Something unusual is happening with only a few days remaining before the U.S. men's national team opens its World Cup campaign against Paraguay: Tickets for the match are not sold out.

Although numbers fluctuate regularly, FIFA's ticketing website still shows 132 tickets left to sell for a game that's set to take place in Los Angeles on Friday. Meanwhile, resale platforms such as StubHub and SeatGeek — and FIFA's own marketplace — also show thousands of tickets on sale.

The number is even higher for Canada's opening match against Bosnia Herzegovina in Toronto on the same day, with 226 tickets left in FIFA's website and a high number of tickets available in resale markets.

That's unusual for high-profile events such as the opening matches of the World Cup — traditionally among the hardest to get tickets in the tournament. This year will feature three hosts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico — but so far only Mexico's opening match against South Africa on Thursday looks to be virtually sold out.

Ticketing experts widely agree on the reason: the prices. FIFA dramatically jacked them up for the tournament — especially for high profile games. The most expensive regular seats for the U.S. opener against Paraguay are priced at $2,735 — more than the final cost for the 2022 World Cup final — while the cheapest are $1,120.

Even President Trump said he wouldn't pay those prices.

"I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you," Trump told the New York Post in a recent interview.

The other two remaining games for the U.S. national have far fewer tickets available, given that prices are well below the ones for the opening match.

Prices have also fallen sharply

There are not only plenty of tickets left to sell — a number of them are also available below FIFA's face value. According to Ticketdata, which tracks prices across the resale platforms, the cheapest pair of tickets for the opening match for the U.S. and Canada was $951 as of Monday morning, while in FIFA's resale platform, tickets were available for as low as $690.

Other games across the 104-match tournament also still have many tickets left to sell — despite FIFA President Gianni Infantino's claim that every match is "already sold out." That's especially the case for lesser well known teams such as the Jordan against Algeria match, which still had hundreds of unsold seats in the FIFA's web site.

Demand for high-profile tickets such as Argentina and Portugal was far higher, however, with many of those games looking largely sold out.

Will the opening matches sell out?

Whether eventually the U.S. and Canada opening matches will sell out is hard to answer. Throughout the sales process, FIFA has closely guarded how many tickets it has actually sold and how many are left to sell, making it virtually impossible to gauge.

In addition, like other teams, FIFA could also sell tickets in other platforms including third-party ones such as SeatGeek, which can further obscure how many tickets are left to sell.

FIFA and organizers, however, are hoping for a surge in excitement that leads to a last-minute rush of sales for the opening matches as well as for those such as Jordan against Algeria that look far from being sold out.

Ben Shields, a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, says perceptions so far of the tournament have been shaped by how expensive tickets and travel has been for a tournament taking place across an entire continent.

That, he says, "does not seem to sit well with many."

But that could change.

"The hope or bet — for FIFA is that once the matches start — and the greatest players in the world compete for the most prestigious prize of them all, the sport as business lens will fade into the background and the World Cup will be seen and experienced as the enduring global institution that it is," Shields says. "We shall see."
Copyright 2026 NPR

Orange County’s top elected leaders on Tuesday are set to discuss what to do with $3.7 million recovered from the Andrew Do corruption scheme.

Do is now serving a five-year sentence in federal prison after he admitted to accepting bribes in exchange for awarding millions in tax dollars meant to feed needy seniors and people with disabilities in his district.

As part of the plea deal, Do acknowledged taking more than $800,000 in bribes through his two daughters, including a down payment on the house his youngest daughter Rhiannon Do later forfeited to resolve the criminal case. The scheme was first uncovered by LAist.

Federal officials recovered money from seized bank accounts and two properties connected to Do’s scheme — including the Tustin house his daughter bought.

The county Board of Supervisors is expected to publicly discuss plans for the recovered funds as they make decisions on the overall county budget at their meeting Tuesday. Public comment will also be taken.

What to do with the money?

Ahead of Tuesday’s discussion, Do’s successor said the funds should support residents of his former district who were deprived by Do and his alleged co-conspirators.

“For the past five years, every other district in Orange County has benefitted from the same community funds to support their cities, nonprofits, civic projects which strengthens their communities,” Supervisor Janet Nguyen wrote in a mass email to constituents last week. “However, our district went without because Do stole what belonged to our residents.”

“This money was stolen from the First District, and it must come back to the First District,” Nguyen added.

Nguyen was Do’s mentor and former boss more than a decade ago, before the two had a bitter falling out by 2016.

She encouraged residents of her district to send letters to the board and to speak during public comments.

Several county supervisors told LAist they supported a similar approach, one in which the recovered money goes to support the original intended recipients: seniors and people with disabilities in Do’s former district. Some supervisors have since advocated a broader view of how they’d want to use the money, noting that it was meant to address disruptions caused by the pandemic. Now that years have passed since the initial COVID-19 outbreak and lockdowns, some supervisors argue community needs have changed.

“We are so many years on, and the problems that money originally was to address (mostly Covid impacts) are now behind us, that I think we should have a discussion about how and where to spend it,” Supervisor Don Wagner told LAist via text message in March. “The budget is so tight and the needs so great across the county.”

Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said he’d work toward a fair distribution of the funds to best serve residents, with a focus on current needs.

“We will definitely consider what areas of the County were harmed by Do’s scheme, but we must also remember that the funds were intended for relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, a threat we are no longer facing,” he said in March. “We also need to consider addressing the current needs of residents with any dollars returned to the county.”

Millions more haven’t been recovered, at least yet

The amount of taxpayer money recovered so far is less than half of the $7.9 million Andrew Do admitted was diverted from specific meal contracts.

In a lawsuit seeking to recover funds, the county alleges the total amount lost in the scheme was even larger: $13.25 million. The county’s suit — scheduled for trial in November 2027 — covers all of the money Do gave to two nonprofits accused in the scheme, Viet America Society and Hand to Hand Relief Organization.

That leaves more than $4 million — and possibly much more — not yet recovered.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted they have an ongoing criminal case against Do’s alleged co-conspirator Peter Pham.

“Assuming we obtain a conviction in that matter, we would expect to seek restitution,” the spokesperson, Ciaran McEvoy, said.

Pham left the country on a flight to Taiwan in late 2024 and remains a fugitive, according to McEvoy. The case against him also includes charges against another alleged co-conspirator, Thanh Huong Nguyen, who led the Hand to Hand nonprofit.

Fans of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team swelled the stadium at the Great Park in Irvine on Monday to watch players practice for the first time since arriving at the training facility they’ll call home for the first round of the 2026 World Cup.

“Seeing them play right now… it was really cool to see how they play and how they practice,” said Mila Ran, who came with her mother from nearby Mission Viejo.

“This whole time she’s saying, 'I want to go shoot, I want to go play,'” said Mila’s mother, Farah Ran.

They were among about 6,000 people who won free entry to the practice in a lottery that received more than 30,000 entries, according to Irvine officials.

Fans got to the venue early.

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The team’s biggest stars — Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson and others — showed off their ball handling skills, honed over years of play on U.S. youth fields and overseas in professional leagues. Fans yelled, waved U.S. flags, held up homemade signs, and did the wave several times.

The U.S. Men's National Team at their only open-to-the-public practice session in Irvine.

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After the roughly 45-minute practice, some players walked to the sidelines to take selfies with fans and sign autographs.

The players know it’s going to take more than this, however, to live up to expectations during the World Cup.

US men's national team player Tim Ream signs an autograph for a fan.

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“To be in a position to train in front of these people today… is such a unique opportunity and one that none of us take for granted,” said backup goalie Matt Freese before the practice. “We’re working as hard as we can, as focused as we can to leave the next generation inspired."

The U.S. men’s team and their training staff will use the Great Park facility over the next several weeks as the team plays Paraguay on Friday, Australia on June 19, and Turkey on June 25 in group play at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Jury selection began Monday for the trial of the man accused of igniting a fire that led to the deadly and destructive Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of structures.

Jonathan Rinderknecht is charged with one count of destruction of property by means of fire, one count of arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and one count of setting timber afire. He could face up to 45 years in federal prison.

How we got here

Prosecutors allege Rinderknecht set brush alight near a popular hiking trail in the Santa Monica Mountains on New Year’s Day, starting the Lachman Fire. Firefighters initially thought they put out the fire, but it remained smouldering underground for several days. High winds then brought the embers to the surface, sparking the Palisades Fire, which burned more than 23,000 acres.

What prosecutors say

In a court filing in April, prosecutors allege Rinderknecht displayed “extreme anger, indignation, and frustration” because he had to spend New Year's Eve alone. After driving around for Uber, Rinderknecht hiked up a popular trail and set chaparral alight in a clearing, according to prosecutors.

“He then started calling 911 multiple times, hiked down the hill, and fled the area in his car before firefighters arrived. Defendant returned to the area after he saw fire trucks arriving and then took videos of the firefighting efforts,” prosecutors wrote.

The filing also states that Rinderknecht threatened to burn down his sister’s home.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that Rinderknecht started the smaller blaze knowing it could turn into a bigger inferno.

U.S. District Court Judge Anne Hwang has previously expressed the government’s position could confuse jurors.

What the defense says

Defense attorney Steve Haney previously told reporters that prosecutors were trying to blame Rinderknecht for a fire that started days before the Palisades Fire.

"Well what about what happened between Jan. 1 and Jan. 7?" he asked. "Jonathan wasn't out there with a fire hose putting that fire out at the Lachman location, the Fire Department was. So why are they blaming him for whatever the Fire Department didn't do?"