Topline:
The Rev. Jesse Jackson has died at the age of 84.
About his career: An American civil rights leader, minister, and politician, Jackson was a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and in the 1980s reshaped Democratic politics with two galvanizing presidential campaigns.
Read on... for more about his activism, connections to King and his family's plans to honor his life.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, an American civil rights leader, minister, and politician, who was a protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and in the 1980s reshaped Democratic politics with two galvanizing presidential campaigns, died Tuesday at the age of 84.
"Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world," the Jackson family said in a statement. "We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family."
According to the Jackson family, public commemorations will take place in Chicago.
Jackson was born Oct. 8, 1941, in a tiny house in Greenville, S.C., where he began his lifelong work fighting for civil rights.
While visiting home for Christmas break during his freshman year at the University of Illinois, Jackson needed to borrow a book but couldn't get it from the town's white-only library. Six months later, on July 16, 1960, he and seven other students held a sit-in at the library and were arrested for protesting. After his experience as a member of the "Greenville Eight," Jackson transferred to North Carolina Agricultural & Technical College, a historically Black school in Greensboro, N.C.
His burgeoning activism would bring him in 1965 to march alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and others in Selma, Ala., answering King's call for supporters of a local voting rights campaign. Jackson became a close ally of King — eventually leaving his graduate studies at the Chicago Theological Seminary to join King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He became the Chicago coordinator and a year later, in 1967, the national leader of the SCLC's Operation Breadbasket, which was dedicated to improving the economic conditions of Black communities in the U.S.
In April 1968, Jackson traveled with King to Memphis, Tenn., where he witnessed the civil rights leader's assassination.
King's death marked the beginning of the end for Jackson's association with the SCLC. By 1971, he split with the group and formed his own organization, called Operation PUSH. The group continued Jackson's work to increase Black Americans' political strength and political opportunities.
Jackson later merged Operation PUSH with his National Rainbow Coalition to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, which became a prominent civil rights organization.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Jackson, who became an ordained Baptist minister in 1968, increasingly became an influential player on the national stage.
In 1983, Jackson organized a voter registration drive in Chicago that is credited as being the key factor for the election of the city's first Black mayor, Harold Washington.
In November 1983, he announced his first bid for president, becoming the second Black person to seek a major party's nomination after Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm in 1972. His rousing speech at the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco appealed to a "Rainbow Coalition" of disenfranchised Americans and people of color.
"This is not a perfect party. We're not a perfect people," Jackson said. "Yet, we are called to a perfect mission. Our mission to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to house the homeless, to teach the illiterate, to provide jobs for the jobless, and to choose the human race over the nuclear race."
Though Jackson had significant support for his bid, with his campaign registering more than a million new voters and winning 3.5 million votes, his run for president was not without controversy. Jackson drew heated criticism for making a disparaging remark about New York's Jewish community and for his relationship with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has said the Jewish community is to blame for Black oppression.
Jackson would apologize for his comments and distance himself from Farrakhan, but those efforts were not enough to clinch the Democratic nomination. He placed third in the Democratic primary behind former Vice President Walter Mondale and Sen. Gary Hart. Still, it was a landmark achievement for Jackson and a growing Black political movement.
In 1988, he ran again, expanding his outreach to more white Americans, and reached an emotional crescendo during an impassioned speech at that year's Democratic convention. Although Jackson won major presidential primaries, the first African American to do so, he came in second to the Democratic Party nominee, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis. Until Barack Obama's election in 2008, Jackson was the most successful Black U.S. presidential candidate.
Though Jackson never ran for the presidency again, he remained a powerful player in the Democratic Party, pushing for the leaders to adopt a platform that recognized issues important to Black voters.
Jackson traveled around the globe throughout his life using his voice to expose international problems and highlight civil rights abuses. In several instances, he negotiated and secured the release of American hostages held captive abroad — most notably from Syria, Cuba and Serbia. From 1992 to 2000, he also hosted a weekly discussion show on CNN, Both Sides with Jesse Jackson, where he addressed current social and political issues.
In 2000, Jackson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor a civilian in the U.S. can receive. But controversy was not far behind. A year later, news that Jackson fathered a daughter with a former member of his staff became public.
When the scandal broke, he said, "This is no time for evasions, denials or alibis. I fully accept responsibility and I am truly sorry for my actions."
Jackson found himself apologizing again in 2008, this time to Obama, for crass remarks he made about the presidential candidate in an aside to a reporter on a Fox News program. Obama accepted the apology. And despite other comments critical of the tone of some of Obama's campaign speeches, Jackson was present at his victory party at Grant Park in Chicago and wept.
"I knew that people in the villages of Kenya and Haiti, and mansions and palaces in Europe and China, were all watching this young African American male assume the leadership to take our nation out of a pit to a higher place," Jackson told NPR after Obama's election night.
Jackson saw the rise and painful fall of the promising political career of his oldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., who was elected to Congress from Illinois in 1995 and resigned in 2012 citing health issues. After leaving office, he was investigated for misuse of campaign funds and pleaded guilty in 2013 to spending $750,000 in campaign funds for personal use. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
"I speak really today as a father," Jackson Sr. said at the courthouse the day of the sentencing. "Most of my career has been spent outgoing — helping someone else on something I really understood socially and politically. But this one, of course, is home."
In 2017, Jackson announced he had Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disorder that affects movement. In November, his organization revealed Jackson was diagnosed in April with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological disease similar but different from Parkinson's disease. Despite his illness, Jackson often showed up at protests against police brutality, calling for justice for victims of police shootings.
In August 2020, Jackson spoke at a news conference in Kenosha, Wis., where police shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, several times.
"Today, there's a moral desert, top-down. The acid rain is coming, top-down," he said. "That kind of moral desert hurts all of America."
He compared the demonstrations that summer to those that occurred during the Civil Rights Era, comments that echoed earlier remarks he made to NPR that June about the nationwide protests that erupted after another Black man, George Floyd, was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis.
The marches were "hopeful signs," Jackson said. "The marchers are full of hope. They believe something can happen. On the move, we're not going backwards."
In 2021, Jackson contracted COVID-19. He was hospitalized and spent several weeks in a rehabilitation facility. He stepped down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition in 2023.
On Nov. 12, the coalition announced Jackson was hospitalized for PSP, which affects body movements, balance, vision, speech and swallowing.
Jackson is survived by his wife, Jacqueline, and six children.
Copyright 2026 NPR
Topline:
The museum, which opens to the public Sept. 22, unites the Star Wars universe with all kinds of illustration and classic art.
What you can see: Illustrations and props relating to the original Star Wars films, among many other intellectual properties — not to mention an extensive collection of murals and paintings from fine artists.
About the building: The 300,000-square-foot building designed by architect Ma Yansong with the firm Stantec, could easily blend into the scenery of Coruscant or Bespin in the Star Wars universe.
About the grounds: The gardens outside the museum are free and open to the public.
Read on... to see pictures of the collection.
Exposition Park’s new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens to the public on Sept. 22 — and LAist got a preview.
The 300,000-square-foot building, designed by architect Ma Yansong, working with the firm Stantec, could easily blend into the scenery of Coruscant or Bespin in the Star Wars universe.
For the fans of that certain long-time ago, far, far-away universe, you are immediately greeted by a Naboo Starfighter big enough to fit inside at the museum entrance with a life-size R2-D2 in the co-pilot seat.
Star Wars fans will definitely get their fill with pieces like this in the cinema section:
You can find designs and set pieces from other George Lucas production companies, Industrial Light and Magic and Skywalker Sound, but the museum is dedicated to impactful storytelling of all kinds, with a special focus on the work of illustrators.
“Most of the stories are myths, they're not real, but the illustrations make them real,” George Lucas said at a preview event. “A picture is very powerful, and the stories are very powerful, and you combine them together, and those two elements create a society.”
So, you’ll also see works like this E.H. Shepard illustration from Winnie-the-Pooh in a section dedicated to children’s stories.
And that’s not the only significant work you’ll see there.
“You can see one of the first historically important ‘dogs playing poker’ paintings made in 1894 as a whiskey advertisement, very close to Frida Kahlo, very close to Batman,” Lucas Museum senior curator Ryan Linkof said.
The museum’s umbrella of “narrative art” encompasses fine art like these works from painter, pro-football player and actor Ernie Barnes, photographer Dorothea Lange, and comic book artist Rafael Navarro:
The museum features public art installations — both reproductions of works by Diego Rivera and Banksy.
You'll also experience an extensive video installation of Judith Baca’s The Great Wall of Los Angeles, which you can take in while sitting instead of having to walk the whole length.
The museum boasts extensive grounds built on a former parking lot. There, you can see a number of sculptures, including one of Jabba the Hutt and Princess Leia.
“This public park is available and accessible to everyone all the time, even if you don't come to the museum, even if the museum's not open. You can come to the research library,” Linkof said. “It's an asset and a resource for everyone, including and especially the community.”
Topline:
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman Wednesday won the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America L.A. in her challenge to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
Why it matters: The endorsement places the resources of DSA-LA to work for Raman in what’s expected to be a close race for mayor, but also opens her up to criticism that she’s too far left in her political views for the voters of L.A.
The backstory: Raman, a member of the organization, was first elected with its help in an upset victory over an incumbent City Council member in 2020. She was the first of four DSA-LA members elected to the council in recent years.
Read on ... for details about the endorsement and response from Bass' campaign.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman on Wednesday won the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America L.A. in her challenge to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. The DSA-LA is a potent political organization known for mounting successful door-knocking campaigns for candidates for political office.
The endorsement places the resources of DSA-LA to work for Raman in what’s expected to be a close race for mayor, but also opens Raman up to criticism that she’s too far left in her political views for the voters of L.A.
The endorsement came after Raman won more than 60% of the vote in an online election held within the organization over the past week. Of the more than 6,000 members in the L.A. region, 1,400 participated in the vote.
“With Raman at the top of the ticket, DSA-LA is organizing to unite tenants, union members, immigrant communities, and working Angelenos behind a slate that can break corporate interests’ grip on city government,” DSA-LA said in a statement. “Our vision is clear: win office, build a governing majority, and deliver a city working people can afford to call home.”
Raman, a member of the organization, was first elected with its help in an upset victory over an incumbent City Council member in 2020. She was the first of four DSA-LA members elected to the council in recent years.
“A socialist movement with a path to the mayor’s office in Los Angeles should make the political establishment nervous,” said Sean Wakasa, DSA-LA co-chair. “The opportunity in front of us is enormous, and we intend to meet it.”
Raman was not immediately available for comment.
A spokesperson for the Bass campaign did not comment specifically on the endorsement but pointed to some of the issues that surfaced in debates between the candidates, including how to handle homeless encampments and Police Department funding.
"Nithya Raman said kids aren't safer if an encampment is 500 feet away from a school and voted repeatedly to cut basic public safety funding to make LA safer," Alex Stack said. "Those are positions she now fully owns as she tries to flip-flop and convince voters otherwise."
Raman has defended her opposition to a ban on camping next to schools, saying moving them merely shuffles homeless people from one neighborhood to the next.
Some voters will likely be turned off by the DSA’s endorsement of Raman, according to USC Political Science Professor Christian Grose.
“The DSA endorsement is definitely a double-edged sword,” he said. “It's going to hurt her with the Pratt voters, who will be decisive potentially in the election.”
Conservative T.V. personality Spencer Pratt finished third in the primary with 26% of the vote.
Grose added that Raman already has come under fire for her association with the DSA-LA.
“So those attacks were kind of happening already,” he said.
Wasaka said Raman nonetheless has a lot of appeal to progressive voters.
“Nithya Raman has had a long history with DSA-LA and has helped pass transformative policies at the city level,” Wasaka said. “Her leadership and progressive vision have aligned with DSA members, and we are excited to canvas for her and help her win.
“We’re knocking on tens of thousands of doors, we’re hosting fundraisers and we’re talking to all of our neighbors and families about how these candidates are going to build political power for the working class.”
The DSA-LA endorsed several other candidates in local elections, including Marissa Roy over John McKinney in the L.A. city attorney’s race.
Raman is a member of the DSA-LA, but was not endorsed in the primary, in part because some members said she didn’t hew closely enough to the party line. Raman, for example, wants to roll back part of the mansion tax, which places an extra tax on the sale of properties worth more than $5.4 million. Raman has said it discourages the building of affordable housing.
The DSA-LA backing comes on the heels of another big endorsement of Raman from a major labor union. Earlier this week, Unite HERE Local 11, which represents hotel and restaurant workers, said it is backing Raman.
“Nithya Raman will fight alongside our members to protect working families, enforce our laws, preserve our housing, and hold corporations like Airbnb accountable when they take desperately needed homes off the market,” said Ada Briceño, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.
Political scientist Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles said the union’s endorsement is important.
“I would 10 times more want the endorsement from UNITE HERE that has 30,000 members,” said Guerra. “They are one of the most powerful electoral bodies in terms of mobilization in all of California, especially in Los Angeles.”
Most labor unions back Bass in the election, including the powerful L.A. County Federation of Labor. The Democratic Party and Chamber of Commerce also have endorsed Bass.
Tropical Storm Marie, which will soon become a hurricane, won’t hit Southern California directly, but it will create hazardous ocean conditions at the beach over Labor Day weekend.
Why it matters: The storm is expected to send a strong ocean swell our way, creating dangerous rip currents and surf as people are likely to crowd Southern California beaches for the holiday weekend. It’s also expected to bring clouds and a chance of light rain to the region.
Read on…for a deeper look at this weekend’s forecast.
Despite speculation earlier this week, a hurricane is not going to hit Southern California this weekend.
Tropical Storm Marie is churning in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles off the coast of Mexico. It’s expected to reach hurricane strength by Thursday morning.
The storm is moving northwest, which is typical for most storms in the eastern Pacific. Forecasters say the chance is extremely minimal that it will veer north.
“The current forecast track is for Marie to continue to move off to the west and northwest, further and further away,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Thompson.
But that doesn’t mean we’ll dodge its effects completely.
Hurricanes can affect weather patterns from afar, and Marie is likely to significantly impact Southern California’s weather and beaches over Labor Day weekend.
The strongest effects from the storm will be felt along the coast.
”Those beach coastal impacts are gonna be the big thing to watch for this weekend,” Thompson said. “You're going to have a large and southeast southerly swell moving into the coastal waters from the hurricane.”
Forecasters are warning that the swell will come with dangerously strong rip currents and big waves, especially along south-facing beaches. It could also bring the potential for coastal flooding.
The swell's peak will probably hit Sunday and Monday.
Surf along the Southern California coast has already been high this summer. Last weekend, the conditions, combined with large beach crowds, led to more than 1,200 ocean rescues by L.A. County lifeguards. With temperatures soaring, more than 1 million people went to L.A. County beaches last weekend.
And with the holiday this weekend, large crowds are likely to return to the beaches, potentially putting more people in the path of even more dangerous ocean conditions.
The stats are in.
— LACoLifeguards (@LACoLifeguards) September 1, 2026
More than a million people headed to the beach this last weekend. With the crowds and increased ocean activity, @lacolifeguards performed more than 1,200 ocean rescues and responded to nearly 400 medical emergencies. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/a2orS5eYw3
If you do plan to go to the beach, the safest option is to stay near occupied lifeguard posts and heed lifeguard warnings. Also, stay off of jetties and coastal rocks.
If you’re caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shoreline. Once you stop feeling the current’s pull, swim at an angle away from the current and toward the shore. If needed, tread water and wave for help.
The ocean conditions this weekend are also coming after high surf and tides have already caused significant coastal erosion ahead of this winter’s El Niño.
Marie will also bring a surge of moisture to Southern California, which means beaches will likely be socked in by tropical cloud cover.
It also means there will be a chance of rain across the region.
But at most, the rain will be light, with about a 50% chance of half an inch or less. Forecasters do not expect precipitation to be heavy enough to cause mudslides or hydrate vegetation in any significant way.
However, there is still some uncertainty among forecasters when it comes to the amount of rain and strength of the storm — they could vary if the storm’s path shifts even slightly.
“ That's what we're watching very closely in the next several days,” Thompson said. “If the forecast does seem to change over the next couple of days, it's because the track of the storm would have changed.”
If the storm veers slightly closer to North America, Thompson said the amount of rain and severity of ocean conditions would increase. If it veers the other direction, they would decrease.
Topline:
Los Angeles Unified is blocking student access to artificial intelligence tools on district-issued devices. Wednesday's announcement, made at the kickoff meeting of a new AI committee, was a surprise to board members and parents.
Why it matters: The district’s decision bars an estimated 378,000 students from using generative AI tools on LAUSD laptops and tablets. This is a departure from the current policy.
The backstory: The LAUSD board voted in June to enact what was then the most-widespread student screentime restrictions in the country, but did not specify limitations to student AI use. The resolution instead created an ad hoc generative AI committee.
Keep reading... for details on what's next and questions the policy change raises.
Los Angeles Unified has blocked student access to generative artificial intelligence tools on district-issued devices.
”This is an emerging technology,” said Pia Sadaqatmal, chief academic officer in an interview with LAist. “We will continue to be adaptive as needed, but we do know that the heart of it is really making sure that we keep teaching and learning at the center of our decision.”
Wednesday’s announcement, made at the kickoff meeting of a new AI committee, was a surprise to board members and parents in attendance.
“Just based on the facial expressions of folks in this room, many parents, some of whom work at the district, some of whom don't, I don't think it's well-publicized,” said Nick Melvoin, one of three board members on the committee, after district staff explained the restrictions. “I would encourage us to do more.”
The district’s decision bars an estimated 378,000 students from using generative AI tools on LAUSD laptops and tablets. New York City’s public school system — the only district in the country larger than LAUSD — also announced new limits on artificial intelligence Tuesday.
Parents affiliated with the advocacy group Schools Beyond Screens, which has called for a moratorium on student AI usage in the district, edited prepared comments as they stood at the podium before the committee.
“ We are asking our local institut — no, we're thanking our local institution,” said Sandra Martinez Roe. "Thank you, LAUSD for setting an example and knowing that your obligation is to do so.”
Previously, district policy allowed students 13 and older to use AI tools under school supervision and after they complete a lesson about “digital citizenship.”
The LAUSD board voted in June to enact what was then the most-widespread student screentime restrictions in the country, but did not specify limitations to student AI use.
The resolution instead created an ad hoc generative AI committee with the goal of developing policy recommendations for board approval by next year.
Committee chair Kelly Gonez said the new restrictions were a surprise, but that she substantially agreed with the decision to limit students’ access to generative AI.
“ I wouldn't expect necessarily that there would be a pause for forever,” Gonez said. “But this provides us the opportunity to really think through what does our policy look like moving forward.”
There is currently no mechanism or policy to prevent students from using AI on personal devices to complete school work, though the software will continue to block access if a student signs in to their district profile on that personal device.
District leaders said the web-filtering software Lightspeed prevents students from accessing any website or app categorized as an AI tool on an LAUSD Chromebook. There is a comparable tool for tablets, said David Cooper, senior director of information technology.
The district’s interim chief information officer, Douglas Le, said Lightspeed can also track how long students use district devices.
“This allows us to capture their screen time, the app usage to the second,” he said.
That information will be available in the future to students’ families through the Parent Portal app, teachers and the board, Le said.
The LAUSD board’s generative AI committee meeting is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays through April 2027.
Community members can tune in to the meetings online, over the phone or in person at the board room at 333 S. Beaudry Ave.
The district is also publishing information related to student screentime and other technology use, including information about a series of webinars, at lausd.org/screentime.
LAUSD board members can amplify concerns from parents, students and educators. Find your representative below.
District 1 includes Mid City, parts of South L.A. (map)
Board member: Sherlett Hendy Newbill
Email: BoardDistrict1@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6382 (central office); (323) 298-3411 (field office)
District 2 includes Downtown, East L.A. (map)
Board member: Rocío Rivas
Email: rocio.rivas@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6020
District 3 includes West San Fernando Valley, North Hollywood (map)
Board member: Scott Schmerelson
Email: scott.schmerelson@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-8333
District 4 includes West Hollywood, some beach cities (map)
Board member: Nick Melvoin
Email: nick.melvoin@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6387
District 5 includes parts of Northeast and Southwest L.A. (map)
Board Member: Karla Griego
Email: district5@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-1000
District 6 includes East San Fernando Valley (map)
Board Member: Kelly Gonez
Email: kelly.gonez@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6388
District 7 includes South L.A. and parts of the South Bay (map)
Board Member: Tanya Ortiz Franklin
Email: tanya.franklin@lausd.net
Call: (213) 241-6385
