The Brief

It’s official: Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance is now the most watched of all time.

And one of the most dissected moments has been the surprise appearance by tennis legend Serena Williams, who crip walked to Lamar’s hit dis track, “Not Like Us.”

It wasn’t the first time Williams brought that fancy footwork to a massive audience. She was criticized for doing it in 2012 after winning gold at the London Olympics and in 2023 for doing it at Wimbledon.

So why do it again at the Super Bowl? Was it simply because the Pulitzer-Prize winning rapper asked her to, as she noted in a recent Instagram post. Or was it something more?

Activist and academic Shamell Bell says it was.

“For me, the dance form is a form of liberation,” said Bell, a Harvard University lecturer whose doctoral research focuses on dance as grassroots political action. Last week, she led a dance workshop at UC Irvine that heavily featured the crip walk.

“It’s the embodiment of coming from South Central Los Angeles,” she said. “I come from those streets.”

Shamell Bell, second from right, leads a group in a demonstration of the crip walk at UC Irvine.

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What are the origins of the crip walk?

There’s some debate about when and where the crip walk, or C walk, first appeared.

One story is that a version of it emerged decades ago when acclaimed Harlem dancer Henry Heard — a double amputee who was known by the nickname “Crip” — performed in the 1940s.

Far more often, it’s associated with members of the Crips street gang in Los Angeles, whose members started doing a dance — some have called it a ritual — in the 1970s. And one of the Crips’ original members, Robert “Sugar Bear” Jackson, has been cited as its creator.

It was seen as a way of showing one’s gang affiliation, particularly in contrast to Bloods gang members.

When doing the crip walk, a person will hop from one foot to the other, twisting and turning the feet at angles, sometimes forming the letters C-R-I-P. The arms are usually held up and bent inward at the elbows, with the dancer sometimes throwing up gang-related hand signs.

David Cha of Los Angeles learns to crip walk during a workshop at UCI.

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The dance has appeared in movies, music videos and other aspects of popular culture, notably ones centered on West Coast hip-hop. In 2022, the crip walk made its first Super Bowl halftime appearance, when Snoop Dogg — who is from Long Beach — performed with other artists, including Eminem, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and of course Compton legends Dr. Dre and Lamar himself.

Also from Compton: Serena Williams.

So why is it controversial?

More than a week after the Super Bowl, debate about the show — and the C walk — is still going strong.

Some commenters said they recognized messages in the halftime show that went much deeper than the beef between Lamar and his rap rival Drake. Other commenters said they didn’t like it, didn’t get it, or didn’t think it deserved a platform at the NFL’s biggest event.

“Some folks believe that because of its impetus and beginning in violence that we should not be crip walking as a form of radical joy,” said Bell, who was an original organizer within the Black Lives Matter movement in L.A.

But the meaning behind the C walk has evolved with the times.

Today, there are countless crip walk tutorials on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Some dance instructors work the moves into their in-person classes.

Bell said she’s been using street dances like the crip walk as a form of social justice activism and encountered three main reactions:

1. Those who say it should only be performed by people linked to the gang.
2. Those who say it should never be performed in public because of its links to violence.
3. Those who say the dance has positive connotations, like community and connection.

Bell said crip walking in spaces like the Super Bowl is in some ways repurposing it.

“It’s about turning it on its head, kind of like what you’re doing with the N-word,” Bell said.

Bringing the C walk to the masses

And she’s put that message into practice.

In 2019, Bell drew attention on social media when she crip walked to celebrate earning her Ph.D. In a video clip shared by the UCLA department of African American studies, many people in the room can be seen celebrating with her.

The two-hour workshop she led Thursday night was part of a broader "theater of community" event put on by the university. About a dozen people took part in the session, including Zachary Price, an associate professor of drama at the university.

Price said he saw the crip walk — at the Super Bowl or elsewhere — as a form of cultural expression emerging from the “many permutations of the Black experience.” He explained that it’s part of an African American vernacular that stretches from chattel slavery to Black Lives Matter and beyond.

“I think of these different dance forms as expressive forms but also as [social] movements,” he said.

Daniel Keeling, an assistant professor, dances with others at the UCI workshop.

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Daniel Keeling, an assistant professor at UC Irvine’s Drama Department, also participated in the workshop. Originally from Kansas, he said his musical background skewed more toward musical theater and opera, but he’s been listening to hip-hop more now that he’s a California resident.

He said he had been following the beef between Lamar and Drake, and the crip walk had caught his attention.

“It’s what the culture is feeling,” he said.

Nearly 150 graduating high school seniors who’ve experienced homelessness were celebrated Thursday at a ceremony held by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Some of the students, who came from 60 schools around the region, had been chronically unhoused, struggled with finding transportation to school or didn’t know where they were going to sleep at night.

But educators said the 13th annual graduate recognition ceremony, held in downtown L.A., wasn't just about the “tremendous obstacles” they had to overcome to earn their diplomas. It was a celebration of their resilience and of their futures.

Sadie Stockdale Jefferson, executive director of the LAUSD Education Foundation, said the honored students have proven they can weather a storm.

“ You deserved calm waters, you deserved a boring, easy journey to get across the stage this morning,” she said during the ceremony. “And while it's absolutely unfair that you've had to be so resilient … look around the room, all the people here today, [and] how incredibly proud everyone is of you.”

Students’ stories

During the ceremony, the students listened to speeches from educators and classmates, some were awarded scholarships and others won raffled gift baskets with themes like “college move in” or “cozy night.”

The seniors were joined by friends, family and loved ones who helped support them on their way to the graduation stage.

After they get their diplomas next month, many of the students will go on to attend college — some of them at Ivy League universities — enroll in trade schools or join the military, among other plans.

Daniel Jammal, an 18-year-old from John Marshall High School in Los Feliz, told LAist he lived in Syria for most of his life before flying to California about three years ago, all on his own.

His most impactful memories include using Google Translate to get through class assignments, making new friends and video chatting with his family “where they support me even with the distance and the miles — the thousands of miles,” he said.

Jammal lived in Syria during the civil war, during which his uncle was injured. He said the wounds were treatable, but his uncle didn’t have access to the healthcare he needed and later died.

“ His legacy and honor still lives in me and motivates me every single day to push harder and study biomedical engineering,” he said.

Jammal said he will be going to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in the fall. His goal is to one day create devices that will help people in healthcare, especially those facing discrimination or accessibility issues, he said.

Lesley Davila, 18, from Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School in South Park, said she wants to become a flight attendant to learn more about the world and other cultures.

Davila had a message for other students: You are capable of doing anything.

“ You're more than capable,” she said. “You have to believe in yourself and go for it, no matter what they tell you.”

After the ceremony, each of the students was given a $100 gift card and a new laptop.

Cheering them on

Denise Miranda, the school district’s  director of student support programs, said the ceremony is a result all educators want to see.

While in school, some of the students didn’t have a parent or guardian in the picture. Others stayed with extended family or couch-surfed with friends. Miranda said the role of the Homeless Education Office is to help monitor attendance, support students with basic needs and be “that caring adult so they can thrive successfully every day as they come to school within LAUSD.”

Elsy Rosado,  administrator of LAUSD’s Student Support and Attendance Services branch, compared the process to an onion — peeling back layers of life so the students can do their best at school each day.

“ There were probably moments when this day may have felt far away. Moments of stress, uncertainty, exhaustion and doubt,” Rosado said during the ceremony. “But despite all of that, you are here and you made it.

“A high school diploma is not the end. It is the beginning of new opportunities, new experiences and new possibilities.”

California State University officials have renewed the system's contract with OpenAI, a leading generative artificial intelligence company that has established business deals with universities across the country.

Under the renewed contract, the CSU will pay $13 million a year to use OpenAI’s ChatGPT college product for three years, “with the option to cancel annually with advance notice,” said CSU spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith. The new agreement also expands access to 675,000 users (up from 500,000) and enables students to continue using the product up to one year after graduation.

University officials say providing access to quality AI tools is an equity issue and that the CSU needs to prepare students for the future.

But when ChatGPT was first implemented across the system, faculty raised concerns about AI’s toll on the environment. They also noted that chatbots have been known to generate inaccurate information and can have built-in racial and gender biases. Some students and faculty still refuse to use it.

According to Bentley-Smith, the CSU’s decision to renew the contract “was made following extensive evaluation and input from across the system. Our stakeholders, including the CSU’s Generative AI Advisory Committee and its three subcommittees unanimously recommended renewing the contract. ... This was not a one-time consultation, but an ongoing and iterative process intended to balance innovation, risk management and educational outcomes.”

"We recognize that artificial intelligence is a topic that has sparked important debate and a wide range of perspectives, and we take seriously the concerns expressed about the ethical and responsible use of AI,” Bentley-Smith added. She also noted that, under the new contract, “the per-subscriber cost is lower than during the first contract [with OpenAI] and substantially lower than the price offered by any other vendor.”

Public records obtained by LAist showed that under the system’s first contract with the company, CSU paid a much better rate than other universities, albeit for a lot more users — roughly $1.9 million dollars to make ChatGPT available to 40,000 users during the first six months of 2025. Then, from July 2025 to June 2026, the university system paid another $15 million to make the product available to 500,000 users.

The system is now carrying out 63 faculty-led projects, aiming to use AI to revamp pedagogy in everything from Japanese language instruction to computer science.

CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR's three national series, has died. He was 41.

The Busch Family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR issued a joint statement Thursday saying that Busch died after being hospitalized. No cause of death was given.

Busch's family said earlier Thursday that he was hospitalized with a "severe illness," three days before he was to compete at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch was the younger brother of Kurt Busch, a NASCAR Hall of Famer.

"Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch," the statement said. "A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.

The statement went on to say that "throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, Kyle set records in national series wins, won championships at NASCAR's highest level and fostered the next generation of drivers as an owner in the Truck Series. His sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with race fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal 'Rowdy Nation.'"

The news comes 11 days after Busch radioed into his crew near the end of a Cup Series race at Watkins Glen asking a doctor to give him a "shot" after he finished the race. According to the TV broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold that was exacerbated by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course.

Busch finished the race in eighth place.

In this Nov. 17, 2019, file photo, Kyle Busch holds up the trophy in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series in Homestead, Fla.

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Terry Renna

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Busch competed at Dover last weekend and won the Trucks Series race for Richard Childress Racing. He finished 17th at the NASCAR All-Star race.

"Absolute shock. Very hard to process," veteran NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski posted on social media.

NASCAR driver and former teammate Denny Hamlin posted on social media: "Absolutely cannot comprehend this news. We just need to think of his family during this time. We love you KB."

A polarizing figure known as "Rowdy" and "Wild Thing" for his post-race fights, regular feuds with other drivers and sometimes outlandish behavior, the multi-talented Busch stormed on the Cup Series scene in 2005 by winning Rookie of the Year.

He went on to win championships in 2015 and 2019 for Joe Gibbs Racing.

From Las Vegas, Busch experienced unrivaled success across NASCAR's three national series winning a combined 234 Cup, O'Reilly Auto Parts and Trucks Series races. He had 63 Cup victories along with 102 O'Reilly Auto Parts wins and 69 Trucks victories — both records.

Kyle Busch was said to be ready to race at NASCAR's top level at 16, but a cigarette settlement banned his debut and he had to wait until he was a 18. At the time Kurt Busch said "if you think I'm good, wait until you see my brother."

Busch is survived by his wife Samantha and children Brexton and Lennix.
Copyright 2026 NPR

If there were such a thing as the perfect résumé for hosting The Great American Baking Show, Los Angeles-based actor, writer and comedian Casey Wilson (Happy Endings, SNL) might be the one to have it — despite the fact that she doesn’t bake

She has the sketch comedy and acting experience to pull off the show’s opening skits and introductions to the baking challenges. But also, when it comes to chatting with the bakers throughout the episodes, Wilson literally wrote a book (an audiobook, fittingly) titled The Art of Small Talk with fellow actor, writer and comedian Jessica St. Clair.

What’s unique about making small talk during the Baking Show, which Wilson has co-hosted for four seasons now for The Roku Channel — the latest with her friend and former Black Monday co-star Andrew Rannells (Girls, Another Simple Favor) — is making chit-chat with someone who’s trying to focus on making some elaborate cake, bread or pastry, and likely also pretty stressed.

“ In real life,” Wilson told LAist, “if you saw the emotional state of the people that are baking, you would immediately know, ‘Let me back up and allow them their space.’ Meanwhile, [the producers] are like, ‘Go on in.’ And Andrew and I always say, we're like, ‘Tell us about your grandpa.’”

Luckily, the contestants are good-natured about the whole thing. And Wilson and Rannells’ repartee with the contestants, each other and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith just add to the overall good vibes of the competition — in keeping with the tradition of the much-beloved original British version of the show.

An added bonus of the American version is some of the cultural confusion that arises, like this exchange featured in the trailer about “box cake”:

Wilson spoke with LAist about what goes on behind the scenes of The Great American Baking Show (the latest season of which premiered on The Roku Channel on May 11) and her top picks for baked goods in Los Angeles.

LA bakeries to check out for non-bakers (and bakers who want a break)

When she’s home in L.A., Wilson says, she’s not so much into baking herself, but because of that, she knows where to go to get a good cake, dessert or bread. She offered this list of her top picks:

• SusieCakes (various locations) :  “I know now it's, like, a chain, but in L.A., I love SusieCakes, and I wanna shout it out. If you have forgotten someone's birthday, it's amazing to order on DoorDash and they have like this old-fashioned cake [...] and they'll write on it. […]  It's wonderful and truly the best cake and cupcakes."
• Lark Cake Shop (Silver Lake): “ Lark, which is a small bakery in Silver Lake; they have an ice box cake that is tremendous. It's incredible.”
• Claudine Kitchen & Bakeshop (Encino):  ”I live in Los Feliz, so that's a drive, and I will embark on it to get these s'mores bites. [...] If I have them, people are angry that I don't have more, and it's the greatest dessert ever.”
• Cake Monkey (Mid-City):  ”My son has celiac disease, so we're always trying to look for gluten-free, which is hard to find, you know, especially for a kid. [...] Cake Monkey is a bakery, more like a Mid-City area, and they have an incredible gluten-free triple berry cake that's great, and they just have a lot of gluten-free options that are awesome.”
•  Breadblok (Silver Lake): “It's all gluten-free breads, and they have some desserts too. They have a brown butter chocolate chip cookie that's wrong — should be illegal. But their breads are so good, and it's for everybody. People go there that aren't even gluten-free because it's just that good.”

The BTS of GBBO (and GABS)

The Great American Baking Show films at the same English countryside location and with the same crew as The Great British Bake Off (titled The Great British Baking Show in the U.S.), many of whom, Wilson explained, have been with the show since the beginning.

One thing Wilson said people are sometimes surprised to learn is that there are no retakes and the time constraints on the baking challenges are very real.

“It's very pure in that sense,” Wilson said. “They have exactly that amount of time. And even a couple times when it was time to say, ‘Bakers, your time is up,’ I would walk slowly 'cause I'd see somebody needing more time and [the producers] are like, 'We see you! Walk!'"

Another surprise to her, Wilson said: “You cannot believe how many camera people there are — I mean, 12 roaming at all times” to capture the bakers’ moves.“ It's kind of like The Truman Show, basically.”

And while you might assume that the short skits that she and Rannells film that introduce each episode’s theme are filmed all at once, they’re not. Instead, they’re always filmed in the early morning hours of the second day of each episode’s two-day shoot.

As for what happens during the week, when filming is done, Wilson explained, “ The poor bakers, they have to practice so much, so they're basically like hostages in their apartments, baking every second. But Andrew and I were a bit more footloose and fancy free, you might say. So we bopped around and we saw shows and we hung out a lot with Paul Hollywood, who I love, and it was just a dream.”