The Brief

More than 10,000 cat lovers are expected to descend on Pasadena this weekend for the annual CatCon.

Founded in 2015, the so-called “Comic-Con For Cat People” is the brainchild of entertainment writer-turned-Team Cat advocate Susan Michals.

"Everybody thought that cat people were all old cat lady hoarder and spinster types," Michals said, adding that Eleanor Abernathy from The Simpsons is a prime example. "What I found is that there was a much younger demo that was not being served."

That ephipany came to Michals in 2014, when she curated a cat art show in L.A. More than 4,000 people showed up to see it, according to Michals.

"It was young, it was hip, it was trendy. It was hungry for information about cats and things for cat people. So I thought, you know what I need to do? I need to go broader. And that's how CatCon was born," Michals said.

The inaugural CatCon took place in Downtown L.A. and relocated to roomier digs at the Convention Center in Pasadena in 2017. The event has grown alongside an explosion in pet spending in the country, from $60.28 billion to $136.8 billion between 2015 and 2022, according to the trade group American Pet Products Association.

Cat ownership, according to the same group, now clocks at 46.5 million households.

But it's not exactly news to the folks at CatCon.

"We've grown from 63 exhibitors in 2015 to 200 this year, and what people bring is a combination of products for cats and for cat people," said Michals.

Here are some highlights from this year's convention.

Karma Is A Cat

Last year, CatCon made news with an art show dedicated to Nicolas Cage.

This year's encore focuses on another equally famous and proud cat owner.

"We have an amazing exhibition called, "Karma Is A Cat" art show, which is an homage to Taylor Swift as a cat icon and cat owner," said Michals.

The artworks are for sale, and a portion of the proceeds will go to charities.

Internet Famous Cats

Which earthly beings haven't devoted countless hours scrolling through social media for worthy cat pics?

And some of Internet's most famous cat-fluencers are at CatCon, including Merlin The Mad Ragdoll, Sponge Cake, and Scottish Fold.

The Products

Last year, Americans spent nearly $40 billion on vet care and products. There are plenty of those at this year's CatCon.

"We have tech companies [offering] the latest in cat tech — trackers or litter boxes that can track if your cat is sick," Michals said.

"One of the things that's a growing industry is cat probiotics and cat holistic products. The Two Crazy Cat Ladies are going to be talking about how you can improve your cat health. Imagine sort of Eastern medicine meets probiotics, but for the four-legged set," Michals said.

Expect silent nights in Naples’ channels this holiday season.

The Naples Improvement Association announced Saturday that this year’s Naples Island Holiday Boat Parade, a Long Beach tradition since 1946, has been canceled because of expected high tides and heavy surf that organizers said would make the event too unsafe for visitors and participants.

It’s the first time in six years — since the onset of the COVID pandemic — that the parade has been canceled. What began as a small procession of decorated barges filled with singing church choirs has grown into an institution in Long Beach with more than 100 entries, from Duffys to dragon boats, and 60,000 spectators.

Ben Fisher, the association president, said the decision came after weeks of deliberations and a 600-respondent poll that found most wanted the parade — and all holiday events in Naples — to be canceled this year.

Forecasters expect a powerful El Niño season that will raise tides 6 to 18 inches above typical levels. This is paired with a series of slow, very wide swells of warm water known as Kelvin waves expected to frequent Long Beach’s southern-facing coast this winter.

During the week of Christmas, tides are expected to reach 7.5 to 8.5 feet, with the highest forecast to arrive in the mornings and peaking around Christmas Eve.

Part of the decision was also tied to ongoing frustrations with the city, which Fisher said has failed to address the island’s deteriorating infrastructure, from its aging seawall to underperforming drainage systems, that make it “too unsafe to draw tens of thousands of people to visit Naples this holiday season.”

“The city has told us to sandbag everything (public and private property); docks and gangways are being dismantled and sawed off however each individual owner sees fit; and the seawalls themselves are crumbling with exposed, rusted and sharp rebar in many places along the canals where many families normally would sit on any given holiday evening,” Mr. Fisher wrote.

For decades, the seawall has shielded multimillion-dollar homes and fortified the man-made canal that loops around the island. The city evaluated the structure in 2009 and found it in significant disrepair. A six-phase repair plan is underway, but only two phases are complete.

City officials have said they need $125 million to finish replacing the aging seawall, and they have halted reconstruction amid shrinking oil revenue and an uncertain future for federal disaster aid. Among the options under consideration is a 30-year bond spread across the whole neighborhood that would cost $5,100 per property annually. If limited to homes along the seawalls, it would cost $48,000 per property.

In a statement Saturday, council member Kristina Duggan, whose district includes Naples, said she respected the decision and added that the focus this winter should be on preparing the island for the upcoming weather. While the seawalls are stable under high tidal pressure, she said, maintenance work will “start next week to seal cold joints and help reduce water seepage.”

“We are encouraging everyone to prepare, and we look forward to seeing the Naples Boat Parade return next year,” Duggan wrote.

When high tides arrive, water already spills over the seawalls in some spots, reaching nearly two feet deep, flooding sidewalks and threatening homes. Residents and officials disagree over whether to prioritize coastal protection or recreational amenities.

The money normally spent on the parade will go instead toward pumps, hoses, plugs and generators, Fisher said, “resources our waterways and neighbors desperately need.”

Whether residents decorate their homes this year, he said, is up to them.

Crowds gathered at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights on Saturday for a rally and march to Adventist Health White Memorial after federal immigration agents mounted a blockade at the emergency room entrance and detained at least two people outside the hospital.

Community organizers and elected officials on Saturday handed off a letter to the hospital’s administrators, calling for an end to any collaboration between the hospital and federal immigration agents.

Sen. Maria Elena Durazo said that it appears the hospital is earning a reputation for being an “ICE-friendly hospital.”

“What happened last night was unacceptable,” Durazo told the hospital’s administrators in the same parking lot where the blockade was held. “It’s unacceptable that ICE would go into our healthcare facilities. But we also believe that White Memorial can and should do more.”

Several hours earlier, patients arriving at the hospital were met by a large presence of masked agents who stood outside the hospital starting Friday evening and into the early hours of Saturday. Ambulances were diverted to nearby hospitals for about two hours while the activity took place.

Local residents and rapid response groups were kept away from the hospital and in multiple videos shared on social media, masked agents pushed away protesters and sprayed them with what appeared to be pepper spray.

The backstory ad what the hospital says

The series of events began after eyewitnesses said they saw federal agents detain a person and take them into the hospital before a crowd of protesters came to rally against the ICE agents, according to Raquel Roman, executive director of Proyecto Pastoral and member of the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network.

Saturday’s rally, organized by the local rapid response group, started at Mariachi Plaza and coincided with a Dia de los Muertos celebration. People marched with signs that read “Protect the Sacred” and “Melt ICE” while others wore La Catrina face paint.

Community members, Durazo, Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez and Mayor-elect Nithya Raman gathered outside the hospital around 2:30 p.m. with members of Proyecto Pastoral and Centro CSO to denounce the ICE activity that had taken place outside the emergency room.

Daniel Fontoura, president at Adventist Health White Memorial, said the hospital staff does not work with federal immigration agents.

“I don’t know what I can do to assure you there’s no special relationship, no special contract. When they show up, they show up,” Fontoura said, referring to the federal agents.

He added that the hospital would like to work with community organizations and elected officials to understand what they should do in these types of situations.

The LA Local was provided a copy of the letter handed to the hospital administrators. Durazo asks White Memorial leadership to provide a detailed account of what happened and determine why agents were allowed to block the ambulance entrance.

The letter also asks that the hospital “implement and enforce clear procedures” to block ICE agents from obstructing entrances and accessing patient rooms and to issue a public statement in English and Spanish “reaffirming the hospital’s unwavering commitment to caring for all patients, regardless of immigration status.”

The letter requests a written response from hospital leadership by Nov. 21.

“If these concerns remain unresolved, we will seek a review by the California Attorney General of White Memorial’s compliance with state law,” Durazo wrote in the letter.

The letter was signed by multiple community leaders and elected officials present at the rally.

Fontoura appeared flustered as he spoke to Durazo and the other officials. He told the crowd that hospital staff called 911 to try and stop the blockade. He was drowned out by people shouting, “Shame.”

About the rally

Derek Mejia, 30, a police accountability co-chair at Centro CSO, joined the rally Saturday afternoon.

He was part of a group who gathered outside the hospital early Saturday morning after federal immigration agents detained two people. By that time, Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived at the scene and an LAPD helicopter circled the area, Mejia said.

“It’s a shame,” Mejia said of the incident.

Mejia said he was at the rally because, “One, we want to show ICE that we’re not afraid and two, we want to let White Memorial know that their collaboration with ICE is not only detrimental to the community but that it needs to stop.”

Verita Topete of Centro CSO, addressed the crowd at the rally. “White Memorial is endangering the same community they claim to serve,” she said.

“ICE out of L.A. ICE out of Boyle Heights. ICE out of California,” Topete chanted, and the crowd followed suit.

The group then marched back to Mariachi Plaza before dispersing around 3 p.m.

They were also joined by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, along with CHIRLA’s Executive Director Angelica Salas, union organizer David Huerta of SEIU and Father Brendan Busse with Dolores Mission Church.

Mayor Karen Bass did not atend the rally, but denounced the ICE activity and in a statement called “on the Trump Administration to stop all immigration enforcement in and around health care facilities. Hospital leadership also had a duty to step in right away to protect patients and neighbors, and by all appearances, that did not happen.”

Mayor-elect Nithya Raman joins community members at Adventist Health White Memorial in Boyle Heights on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026 after federal immigration agents blocked off the emergency room entrance.

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Steve Saldivar

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The LA Local

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Raman, who was elected L.A.’s next mayor, did attend the rally and thanked community members who showed up to protests ICE’s presence several hours earlier at the hospital. She said that as an immigrant herself, she has “felt the fear that so many across the city and across this country have felt … since these raids began.”

“What happened last night at this hospital was an affront to the wishes of the American people and to the people of Los Angeles,” Raman said.

As she left the rally, community members shouted at Raman to “fire the police chief.”

Throughout her mayoral campaign, Raman said she will attempt to replace LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell after criticizing the department’s handling of ICE enforcement, protests and sharing data with federal authorities, which Raman says is a violation of L.A.’s Sanctuary City policies.

The post Community, LA leaders denounce ICE activity at White Memorial appeared first on LA Local.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has offered the job of White House press secretary to his friend and UFC boss Dana White, an announcement unconventional even for the norm-busting president. White said Saturday that he plans to meet with Trump on Monday at the White House.

Trump, while he was at his golf club in Florida, posted on social media that he made the offer to “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” to become the Republican president's chief spokesperson.

White, who was in London on Saturday for a boxing event, was asked at a news conference about Trump's post and responded by saying that he planned to fly to Washington right after and meet with Trump on Monday.

When asked how he would balance the job with the current positions he has in the fighting world, White seemed confused by the question and then said, “Yeah, I got a lot of jobs already.”

He declined to say what conversations he'd had with Trump but said, “I'm sure I'll have more to talk about after that.”

Before the news conference, the UFC head shared an image of Trump’s post on Instagram, along with an image of himself standing behind the podium in the White House press briefing room with the words “On to the next chapter.”

The White House and a spokesperson for the UFC did not respond Saturday to messages inquiring about the Truth Social post.

Trump said in his post that he requested that White bring along several UFC fighters as “assistants,” adding, “We need these people to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!”

While White didn't make it clear if he was seriously considering the position of becoming the primary spokesperson for the president of the United States, he did elsewhere in his news conference describe his ambitions to expand the Zuffa Boxing organization he also runs with Saudi Arabian backers and hold more of its events around the world.

Trump's post came as his White House is in a period of major transition and struggling with his party's deep losses in Tuesday's midterm elections. The historic wins by Democratic candidates, including in areas that Republicans had held for decades, led to the GOP losing control of both chambers of Congress.

Trump on Friday announced he was replacing his longtime adviser Susie Wiles, who was seen as something of a tempering force on the president's impulses, with aide Stephen Miller to serve as the next chief of staff. Miller is known as the architect of the administration’s hard-line immigration policies and is among the most determined of Trump's inner circle.

The shake-up at the heart of his administration follows the brief but tumultuous week when Trump tried out a new press secretary in Katie Zacharia, who seemed uncomfortable in her sole appearance before reporters before leaving the job after five days.

The post had been vacant since Karoline Leavitt left at the end of August. Trump remains without a chief spokesperson.

Trump is close friends with White and has attended several UFC events with him since returning to the White House in January 2025.

He brought White and the sport to the White House’s South Lawn in June for the celebration of America’s 250th year of its independence and the president's own 80th birthday. A wire-mesh Octagon was constructed near the executive mansion under " The Claw,” a spaceship-like metal arch fitted with lights, sound equipment and large screens.

“It was an amazing experience, this was a one-of-one,” said White afterward.

White also spoke at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020 and 2024.

Associated Press writers Daniel Gelston in Philadelphia and Jesse Bedayn in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

Federal immigration agents detained at least two people late Friday outside Adventist White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights, where protesters had gathered after reports of immigration enforcement activity, according to rapid response groups. Protesters remained at the hospital into the early hours of Saturday, where immigration agents maintained a large presence.

It appears the incident began after people witnessed someone being detained and taken into the hospital, according to Raquel Roman, executive director of Proyecto Pastoral and member of the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network.   That spurred a crowd of protesters to rally against ICE agents, who then detained two protesters who are U.S. citizens, Roman said.

ICE activity was also reported near Mariachi Plaza at 5:50 a.m. Saturday, according to witnesses, and outside the East LA Sheriff’s Station, where agents have been seen detaining people in the L.A. County-designated ICE-Free zone. 

Arrests captured on social video

Video posted on social media appears to show one person being detained outside the hospital. In the video, at least three officers in tactical vests are seen detaining someone at the intersection of Boyle and Pennsylvania Avenues around 11:30 p.m.

A group of about six more officers in tactical vests and masks can be seen walking around the area as another, whose vest says “Police ICE,” yells at the person recording to “back up” and “do not impede with the arrest.”

“You’re arresting U.S. citizens,” the person recording says. “18 USC 111, they’re interfering,” the officer replies, referring to Title 18, Section 111 of the U.S. Code: Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees. 

In the video, a bystander who says the person being arrested is his brother can be seen speaking to the officer. 

“Your brother assaulted a federal agent. He’s being arrested for assaulting a federal agent; he’s coming with us,” the officer tells them. 

Boyle Heights Beat reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for more information about the incident but has not yet received a response.

LAPD response

The Los Angeles Police Department was first called to the scene at 11:59 p.m. to respond to a “large group causing a disturbance,” according to LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman. LAPD responded again at 2:24 a.m. as crowds continued to gather outside of the hospital. 

“Officers responded to maintain public safety and keep the peace. At no point did LAPD officers assist federal immigration authorities with enforcement activities or detain any individuals in connection with immigration enforcement,” Eisenman said. 

Video posted on social media by Izzy Ramirez shows a line of agents blocking the emergency loading dock around 2:30 a.m. as a crowd continues to shout at the agents and make noise.

“It was horrible for the local community. The ICE presence was a lot more than I’ve seen it visibly before,” said Roman. 

What the hospital said

Japhet De Oliveira, corporate communications executive at Adventist Health, shared the following statement:

“Federal agents brought a person in their custody to our emergency department, and we cared for that patient with dignity and privacy, as we do for every patient. When agents formed a line across our ambulance entrance, which we did not request nor authorize, we diverted ambulances to nearby hospitals for about two hours to ensure every patient received timely care. White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement. We know last night frightened our neighbors. No matter what happens outside our doors, everyone who comes inside is our patient, and our focus will only be on that patient, and it will not change.”

Doctors at Adventist White Memorial last year reported that ICE agents were violating the privacy rights of detained patients and prohibiting contact with patients’ family members. While the hospital released guidelines to protect patients and support staff,  doctors and advocates have said they fall short.

What's next

Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, said she was “deeply troubled” by the reports overnight and demanded answers from hospital leadership. She said:

The Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network said it plans to lead a protest against ICE outside White Memorial at 2 p.m. Saturday.

This is a developing story and will be updated. 

The post ICE detains two U.S. citizens protesting outside White Memorial Hospital, rapid response groups say appeared first on LA Local.