The social media company Meta and states suing it, including California, have agreed to a proposed settlement that would resolve a landmark federal child safety lawsuit and could be a turning point for a wave of lawsuits against social media companies.
About the lawsuit: California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey represented a larger consortium of states that alleged that Meta designed its apps — Facebook and Instagram — to be addictive to kids, knew about the risks those platforms posed, but hid that information from the public. In addition to claims that Meta broke state consumer protection laws, the states accused Meta of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting data about children under the age of 13. Meta has a policy of not allowing kids under 13 on its platforms, but some skirt the rule by registering with false birth dates.
The settlement: The proposed settlement would require Meta to pay $17 billion in penalties to the states over 10 years, and to make significant changes to how its platforms operate so that they are safer for minors. California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office also said Meta had agreed to a default time limit of two hours for users under 18 and a nighttime block between midnight and 6am, both of which can only be lifted by a parent; default night and schooltime notification blocks; a ban on displaying the numbers of "likes" or reactions to posts made by minors; a ban on cosmetic surgery image filters for minors; and an option for young users to have a "non-personalized feed" that is not run by an algorithm targeting them with content.
What's next: The proposed settlement says a portion of the funds would go toward things like youth mental health programs, after school programs and crisis intervention services. The proposed settlement must be approved by the judge in the case, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The social media company Meta and states suing it have agreed to a proposed settlement that would resolve a landmark federal child safety lawsuit and could be a turning point for a wave of lawsuits against social media companies.
California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey represented a larger consortium of states that alleged that Meta designed its apps — Facebook and Instagram — to be addictive to kids, knew about the risks those platforms posed, but hid that information from the public.
In addition to claims that Meta broke state consumer protection laws, the states accused Meta of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting data about children under the age of 13. Meta has a policy of not allowing kids under 13 on its platforms, but some skirt the rule by registering with false birth dates.
The proposed settlement would require Meta to pay $17 billion in penalties to the states over 10 years, and to make significant changes to how its platforms operate so that they are safer for minors.
"Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
"Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months," he added.
Meta's Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney said in a statement the framework was groundbreaking and "will empower parents to easily manage how their children access our platforms."
"But its success depends on all other social media platforms following Meta's lead," he said, making an explicit call for TikTok and YouTube to implement this same framework.
Tiktok and Google, which owns YouTube, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Meta has denied the allegations brought by the states.
Bonta's office also said Meta had agreed to a default time limit of two hours for users under 18 and a nighttime block between midnight and 6am, both of which can only be lifted by a parent; default night and schooltime notification blocks; a ban on displaying the numbers of "likes" or reactions to posts made by minors; a ban on cosmetic surgery image filters for minors; and an option for young users to have a "non-personalized feed" that is not run by an algorithm targeting them with content.
Meta must also bring on an independent auditor with "expansive access to information and resources" and the right to communicate with the attorneys general, the announcement said, and would also be subject to an injunction "prohibiting it from making further false, misleading, or deceptive statements around its safety features."
"I am proud to deliver this settlement that addresses the concerns at the core of our lawsuit and institutes real change, real transparency, and real enforceable protections for children on Facebook and Instagram — right now, no more waiting," Bonta wrote.
The proposed settlement says a portion of the funds would go toward things like youth mental health programs, after school programs and crisis intervention services.
The trial started last week in federal court in Oakland, Calif., and was expected to run through early October. But the settlement announcement comes only midway through the trial's second week.
Key testimony came from insiders who worked at Meta, including whistleblower Arturo Béjar, who testified that the company culture was obsessed with increasing user numbers and that Meta's internal studies showed that young users were exposed to harmful experiences at much higher rates than the company acknowledged publicly.
Yesterday, the states brought Instagram head Adam Mosseri to the stand and questioned him about the effectiveness of some features added to Instagram to try to keep teens from using it too much. They accused Mosseri of publicly touting the use of one of those safety features — called "Take a Break," a feature that nudged kids to close the app — when the reality was that it had very limited uptake by teens.
The proposed settlement must be approved by the judge in the case, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The case is part of a wave of lawsuits that has been compared to litigation against tobacco companies in the 1990s. Those suits led to record settlements, changes to the way the companies operate, and a shift in the public discourse about cigarettes.
The case was consolidated from a series of lawsuits by attorneys general around the country against Meta, and the settlement resolves the cases and claims of 51 of those, according to the California Attorney General's Office.
Tim Curry performs a number from the musical "Spamalot" during the Broadway premiere on March 17, 2005, in New York.
(
Stuart Ramson
/
AP Photo
)
Topline:
Tim Curry, a character actor who created a gallery of delicious, very loony villains for stage and screen, including Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” has died. He was 80.
More details: Curry, who suffered a stroke in 2012 that put him in a wheelchair, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, according to his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz. No cause was disclosed.
The backstory: Curry burst onto the scene as the Transylvanian Frank-N-Furter in the sci-fi, cross-dressing rock musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which premiered in 1973 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went with it to Broadway and then starred in the 1975 cult-classic movie alongside Barry Bostwick, Meat Loaf and Susan Sarandon.
Read on ... for more on Curry's life.
Tim Curry, a character actor who created a gallery of delicious, very loony villains for stage and screen, including Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," has died. He was 80.
Curry, who suffered a stroke in 2012 that put him in a wheelchair, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, according to his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz. No cause was disclosed.
Known for his arch humor, a putty-like face and gift with voices, Curry earned three Tony nominations — for “Spamalot,” “My Favorite Year” and “Amadeus” — and an Emmy nod in 1994.
“I like playing the more curious corners of the human mind and human behavior, partly because they’re a tad more interesting,” Curry told The Associated Press in 1993.
Curry burst onto the scene as the Transylvanian Frank-N-Furter in the sci-fi, cross-dressing rock musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which premiered in 1973 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went with it to Broadway and then starred in the 1975 cult-classic movie alongside Barry Bostwick, Meat Loaf and Susan Sarandon.
The show was ahead of its time in terms of its representation of LGBTQ+ characters and has entered the pop culture lexicon for its many iconic and memorable scenes, including the song “The Time Warp,” which has been covered by a handful of artists, and the often-quoted phrase, “Dammit, Janet!” The show was twice revived on Broadway, most recently in 2026 with Luke Evans playing Frank-N-Furter.
Tim Curry’s take on Frank-N-Furter
Curry’s Frank-N-Furter had a posh British accent, but that almost wasn’t the case. He said he tried German and American accents but pivoted after he heard a British woman on a bus talking with her friend.
“I met a woman on a bus who said, ‘Do you have a house in town or a house in the country’ and I thought, ‘That’s the voice!’” he told LA Magazine in 2015.
For many years after the film’s premiere, the British-born actor declined to discuss it. He didn’t participate in activities promoting the film, which morphed into an interactive event at midnight shows. But he later warmed again to the project and embraced it at public events. Asked by LA Magazine how he viewed “Rocky Horror,” he responded: “With a sort of bemused tolerance. It’s neither a blessing nor a curse. I was lucky to get it.”
Curry’s Broadway career included starring in Tom Stoppard’s “Travesties” in 1975-76, playing Mozart opposite Ian McKellen’s Antonio Salieri in Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” and King Arthur in the 2005 production of “Spamalot.” The New York Times said his “stalwart, plummy-voiced Arthur wears a smile as inflexible as armor.”
His screen credits included starring as the child-killing monster in the 1990 miniseries version of Stephen King’s horror novel “It” and the double-dealing Cardinal Richelieu in 1993’s “The Three Musketeers” with Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Chris O’Donnell.
In his 2025 memoir, “Vagabond,” Curry warned readers that while there were scraps of his nature in his characters, he was none of them. “The distinctions between who I really am and who I’ve pretended to be as an actor have proven to be a source of great disappointment to some audiences. It has not caused me much personal distress beyond the periodic necessity to deter stalkers,” he wrote.
Tim Curry’s life and career began in England
Born in Cheshire, England, Curry was the son of a Navy chaplain and a school secretary. He was 12 when his father died and his mother subsequently went to work. Young Tim learned to cook his own breakfast, resulting in a lifelong passion for cooking, and sharpened his humor muscles.
“My father was a Methodist chaplain in the Navy, and we moved pretty much every 18 months,” he said. “So I had to make my mark in new schools and new playgrounds pretty quickly. And a sense of humor is the best way to do that. I was always a kind of mimic, one of those awful, relentless children, I should think.”
Acting did not occur to him until his middle teens, when he attended a school for the sons of Methodist ministers.
“I was lucky that it was a liberal kind of school; many of them in England are rather Dickensian,” he recalled to the AP. “There was a lot of theater, and I sang, too; I had been singing in church from the age of 7. I had enormous opportunities to express myself in that way. I just got hooked, really.”
His training continued in 1965 when he entered the University of Birmingham, at that time one of three English universities with a drama department. “I took an academic course, which I largely ignored, I’m afraid, and just acted all the time,” he said.
He then went down to London and talked his way into his first job, “Hair,” in the West End. Curry went on to the more formalized theater of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court Theatre, where he was enlisted for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Tim Curry’s other roles
He went on, as the smug concierge, to futilely try to stop Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister from taking advantage of New York’s swanky Plaza Hotel in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.” Curry also was Wadsworth, the unhinged butler with a secret past, in the also quotable “Clue.” He also played a wealthy philanthropist in 1995’s “Congo” and opposite Carol Burnett in the movie “Annie.”
“Hollywood tends to use European actors, especially English ones, as villains because they prefer heroes to be Americans. I think we come with a certain amount of style, which is hard for American actors to acquire,” he told the AP in 1997. “They have to choose early on between New York and the theater vs. Hollywood and television and movies. In England there is still regional theater, where you can be assured work for several years doing all kinds of things.”
In later years, Curry lent his baritone voice to many voice-acting roles in children’s TV series, including “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “The Wild Thornberrys” and “The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.”
After a yearslong break from live-action roles, he played a plague doctor-masked man in a wheelchair in 2024’s “Stream,” something the film’s director Michael Leavy called a dream come true.
Curry, who never married and had no children, was deeply private about his personal life. But he wrote in his memoir that he was convinced to tell his story thanks to so many moving encounters with fans.
“The notion that my experiences might resonate helps me persevere — if they strike a chord with only one teenager, alone with a book in his room, as I so often was; or that young woman reading this on an interminably long bus ride; or that older queen, hopefully still in his fishnets, who saw ‘Rocky Horror’ upstairs at the Royal Court; or that middle-aged mother who organizes ‘Clue’ watching parties and refuses entry to anybody out of costume; or that buttoned-up bank clerk who relishes musicals; or that woman who kicked me out of the Waverly for being myself,” he wrote.
Where to find them in K-town, Pico Union, Westlake
By Hanna Kang | The LA Local
Published August 26, 2026 9:30 AM
A woman carries a packet of water bottles with her dog along Beverly Boulevard in Westlake.
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Steve Saldivar
/
The LA Local
)
Topline:
The city has opened dedicated cooling centers, while libraries and recreation centers are also available for people looking to escape the heat. Community groups in Koreatown are increasing water outreach to unhoused residents, who advocates say have few places to get out of the sun.
Why now: Los Angeles is bracing for some of the hottest weather of the summer this week, with temperatures in parts of the city approaching 100 degrees and some areas of Southern California climbing into the triple digits.
Why it matters: Wednesday and Thursday are expected to bring the most intense heat, with extreme temperatures lingering through Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters say downtown L.A. could come close to or break daily temperature records.
Read on ... for where to find cooling centers and other heat relief.
Los Angeles is bracing for some of the hottest weather of the summer this week, with temperatures in parts of the city approaching 100 degrees and some areas of Southern California climbing into the triple digits.
Wednesday and Thursday are expected to bring the most intense heat, with extreme temperatures lingering through Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters say downtown L.A. could come close to or break daily temperature records.
The city has opened dedicated cooling centers, while libraries and recreation centers are also available for people looking to escape the heat. Community groups in Koreatown are increasing water outreach to unhoused residents, who advocates say have few places to get out of the sun.
Cooling centers
The city is opening nine cooling centers with extended hours, and pets are welcome. For residents in Koreatown, Pico Union and Westlake, nearby options include:
Lafayette Multipurpose Community Center
Address: 625 S. Lafayette Park Place Phone: (213) 384-0562 Hours: Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Residents and their pets can also cool off at Recreation and Parks facilities during their regular operating hours:
Shatto Recreation Center
Address: 3191 W. 4th St. Phone: (213) 386-8877 Hours: Monday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. ; Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ; Sunday and holidays: Closed
Dogs must be on a leash, and all pets must be accompanied by their owners. Kennels can be provided upon request.
Los Angeles Public Library branches also offer free, air-conditioned spaces to escape the heat during regular operating hours. Nearby locations include:
Pico Union Branch Library
Address: 1030 S. Alvarado St. Phone: (213) 368-7545
Pio Pico Koreatown Branch Library
Address: 694 S. Oxford Ave. Phone: (213) 368-7647
Felipe de Neve Branch Library
Address: 2820 W. 6th St. Phone: (213) 384-7676
Wilshire Branch Library
Address: 149 N. Saint Andrews Place Phone: (323) 957-4550
Library hours vary, so residents should check current hours before heading out.
The YMCA will also open cooling centers across the region, including two in Koreatown, according to YMCA spokesperson Christina Bragg. People can cool off inside the air-conditioned facilities and refill reusable water bottles, while some locations may also have bottled water available.
Koreatown YMCA Center for Community Well-Being
Address: 433 S. Vermont Ave. Phone: (213) 401-1946
Anderson Munger Family YMCA
Address: 4301 W. 3rd St. Phone: (213) 427-9622
The weather forecast
L.A. could come close to — or break — several temperature records as the heat continues through Friday, according to Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Wofford said high pressure combined with weaker onshore flow from the ocean is helping drive temperatures up.
The ocean itself is also unusually warm, which Wofford said is having a greater effect on nighttime temperatures.
“Our ocean is pretty warm right now, about 5 to 7 degrees above normal around this time, which mainly influences the overnight temperatures,” he said.
Some relief could arrive toward the end of the week.
“We might see a bit of cooling on Friday and over the weekend and by early next week, we should be pretty close to normal temperatures,” Wofford said.
A customer at Country Ranch Market loaded his car with multiple packets of water bottles.
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Steve Saldivar
/
The LA Local
)
Free water and other resources
Residents can find hydration stations throughout the city, where they can drink water and refill reusable bottles.
Hydration stations are available at Lafayette Park and MacArthur Park in Westlake, Normandie Recreation Center in Pico Union and the Pio Pico Koreatown Branch Library.
The Cool Spots LA interactive map can help residents find additional hydration stations and places to cool off in their neighborhoods.
People can also sign up for NotifyLA for emergency alerts, including warnings about extreme weather.
Heat safety tips are also available in multiple languages, including Spanish, Armenian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Unhoused residents face the heat with little protection
For people living outside, escaping the heat can be much more difficult.
Ktown for All, a volunteer-led group that regularly conducts outreach to unhoused residents in Koreatown, is distributing cold water to their community.
“As part of our regular outreach, we always distribute water, but now we are trying to distribute frozen water,” Sherin Varghese, an organizer with Ktown for All, said.
Varghese said the group is seeing people endure the heat without tents, tarps and other structures that could otherwise provide shade.
“One of the biggest things we’ve been seeing — because there’s been an aggressive push to get rid of homelessness — is that people have lost things like tents and tarps and makeshift structures that would’ve provided some protection,” Varghese said. “We’ve been seeing people without access to any shade or protection from the sun. People are sitting on hot concrete, exposed directly to the sun with no sort of regular access to water.”
Varghese said the effects of the heat extend beyond people living on the streets. She also criticized the city’s Inside Safe program, which moves people from encampments into interim housing.
“We also know and heard that some people in Inside Safe don’t have access to air conditioning, so now we’re even hearing from sheltered folks as well of how bad this is,” Varghese said.
Ktown for All will continue its regular Saturday outreach this week, with volunteers distributing frozen water. While the group has no midweek distribution scheduled, Varghese said some volunteers are making their own drop-offs.
Tam Phan of No Harm KTLA, a volunteer group that does trash pickups in Koreatown twice a month, said volunteers are being encouraged to join Ktown for All’s Saturday outreach. Volunteers will help with water and menstrual product drop-offs.
Phan said she has noticed people living in encampments looking increasingly exhausted as the sun continues to beat down.
“The bigger water bottles left out by volunteer groups look used up or dry,” she said.
She has also noticed more visible signs of dehydration.
“Stepping outside is unbearable for me, so I could only imagine what they are going through without adequate access to water or a place for air conditioning,” she said.
Free events
A free water slide event is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Shatto Park, organized by Los Angeles City Councilmember Heather Hutt’s office.
The event is free and open to everyone, and a light lunch will be served to attendees.
City officials are urging residents to limit strenuous outdoor activity during the hottest hours, drink water regularly and check on neighbors, family members and others who may be particularly vulnerable.
Extreme heat can be especially dangerous for children, older adults, pets, people who work outside and people with certain health conditions.
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Oysterpalooza goes down this weekend in Huntington Beach.
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Tommy Pierucki
/
World Surf League
)
In this edition:
Check out Oysterpalooza, Daisy Chain Fields, a rock project at ICA and more of the best things to do this weekend and beyond.
Highlights:
If you’re lucky enough to score a ticket (it’s currently waitlist-only), this new celebration of women in rock is being hailed as the second coming of the Lilith Fair and hopefully the start of something big. Hosted by Olivia Rodrigo, it features an amazing bill that includes Chappell Roan, Die Spitz, Doechii, Garbage, Katseye, Mitski, Karen O, Sarah McLachlan, Bikini Kill and even Stevie Nicks. It’s all going down at Great Park Live in Irvine.
The South Korean tradition of building wishing rock towers called 돌탑, or DOL-TOP, is believed to protect the community. ICA LA artists-in-residence Saewon Oh and C. Ryu of Hwa Records are collaborating with ICA’s 2026 Agency of Assets Youth Fellows and the lands of Tongva/Los Angeles on a new installation, and they need your help. Donate a rock at the reception desk to be part of the new installation opening this fall.
Oysters aren’t just for eating! Orange County's inaugural oyster festival kicks off with a beach cleanup at 9 a.m. and continues through the day with art activities using recycled oyster shells, talks on sustainability, indigenous storytelling with the Gabrielino-Shoshone Nation, and of course, oyster (and ale!) tastings.
Maestro Gustavo Dudamel’s farewell shows at the Hollywood Bowl after his 17-year run as conductor of the LA Phil were truly a special moment in this city, from the visible lovefest between him and Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl on Saturday to the moving fundraiser for Venezuela with YOLA and stars from Chris Martin to Beck to Carlos Vives on Sunday. A fitting send off for someone who changed the shape of music in Los Angeles. The Dude will be missed! If you didn’t catch the Concert for Venezuela, you can stream it on YouTube.
Saturday, Aug. 29 Great Park Live 8000 Great Park Drive, Irvine COST: FROM $255; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Daisy Chain Fields
)
If you’re lucky enough to score a ticket (it’s currently waitlist-only), this new celebration of women in rock is being hailed as the second coming of the Lilith Fair and hopefully the start of something big. Hosted by Olivia Rodrigo, it features an amazing bill that includes Chappell Roan, Die Spitz, Doechii, Garbage, Katseye, Mitski, Karen O, Sarah McLachlan, Bikini Kill and even Stevie Nicks. It’s all going down at Great Park Live in Irvine.
Mahjong Social
Monday, Aug. 31, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. 15225 Palisades Village Lane, Pacific Palisades COST: FREE; MORE INFO
A mahjong social is coming to Palisades Village.
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Fiona Ng
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LAist
)
Celebrate the reopening of Palisades Village by meeting new friends for a game of American mahjong at the weekly mahjong social. There’s no formal instruction, so just sign up and show up alone or with a group of up to four players.
Donate a rock to ICA
Through Friday, Sept. 18 Institute of Contemporary Art LA 1717 E. 7th Street, Arts District COST: FREE (well, a rock, I guess); MORE INFO
The South Korean tradition of building wishing rock towers called 돌탑, or DOL-TOP, is believed to protect the community. ICA LA artists-in-residence Saewon Oh and C. Ryu of Hwa Records are collaborating with ICA’s 2026 Agency of Assets Youth Fellows and the lands of Tongva/Los Angeles on a new installation, and they need your help. Donate a rock at the reception desk to be part of the new installation opening this fall.
10th Annual Festival Chapín Los Angeles
Saturday and Sunday, August 29 and 30 Lafayette Park 625 S. La Fayette Park Place,Westlake COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Festival Chapin
)
The 10th edition of the annual Festival Chapín celebrates Puerto Barrios, Izabal, Guatemala’s gateway to the Caribbean and the Atlantic. A replica of the iconic “Tierra de Dios” arch, created by artist David Olivares, will welcome visitors at Lafayette Park to the free two-day event, which spans seven blocks and showcases the best of the Garifuna people and Guatemala through music, food and arts and crafts.
East Hollywood Block Party
Saturday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Heliotrope Drive, East Hollywood COST: FREE; MORE INFO
East Hollywood is quickly becoming a major art hub, so head to Heliotrope Drive for an afternoon of art and food, with events at Track 16 Gallery, Art Bug, David Zwirner, Wilding Cran, Ondo Coffee, Cateye Spectacles, GoGo Juice Bar and Red Vintage Co. There’s art, music, raffles, shopping and more.
The Novelizers Live: 35th anniversary of Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Thursday, August 27, 7 p.m. Dynasty Typewriter 2511 Wilshire Blvd., Koreatown COST: $22.99; MORE INFO
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Courtesy The Novelizers
)
This isn’t a screening; it’s more of a comedic reinterpretation-slash-mockumentary look at the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger blockbuster, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, honoring the film’s 35th anniversary (is that really possible? 35?!). Comedians like Andy Daly, Paul Scheer and Colton Dunn will perform alongside co-host of the Novelizers podcast, Stephen Levinson.
UNO SOCIAL CLUB
Thursday, August 27, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. No Vacancy 1727 N. Hudson Ave., Hollywood COST: FREE; MORE INFO
An UNO Social Club is coming to L.A.
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MARTIN BERTRAND/Hans Lucas
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
First Mattel tackled movies with Barbie and He-Man; now they're branching into live events, hosting UNO socials all over the country. The L.A. event at No Vacancy is free to RSVP — just bring your lungs and get ready for a heated game of UNO.
Hungry Ghost Festival
Saturday, Aug. 29, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Alpine Recreation Center 817 Yale Street, Chinatown COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Hungry Ghost Festival
)
Honor the Hungry Ghosts of the ancestors at the annual Hungry Ghost Festival in Chinatown. Don your costume and dance alongside the East Wind Lion Dance Troupe, enjoy food from local vendors, performances, art activities for kids and much more; the annual event is free for all.
Oysterpalooza
Saturday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunset Beach Community Center and Greenbelt 16861 12th Street, Huntington Beach COST: FREE; MORE INFO
(
Tommy Pierucki
/
World Surf League
)
Oysters aren’t just for eating! Orange County's inaugural oyster festival kicks off with a beach cleanup at 9 a.m. and continues through the day with art activities using recycled oyster shells, talks on sustainability, indigenous storytelling with the Gabrielino-Shoshone Nation, and of course, oyster (and ale!) tastings.
Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published August 26, 2026 5:00 AM
Nearly 300,000 California K-12 students experienced homelessness in the 2024-25 school year, according to research from UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools.
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Olivia Hughes
/
LAist
)
Topline:
Nearly 300,000 California K-12 students experienced homelessness in the 2024-25 school year, the highest numbers ever recorded by UCLA researchers. Southern California counties, including Los Angeles and Orange, account for the highest numbers of students experiencing homelessness in the state.
Why it matters: Students experiencing homelessness are more likely to frequently miss school and fall behind academically. While many students have started to score higher on the state’s standardized math and reading tests following pandemic-related declines, the percentage of unhoused students who meet the benchmarks is about 20% lower than their housed peers, the research found.
SoCal numbers: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties account for half of the students experiencing homelessness in the state. About 62,000 – nearly 5% — of L.A. County students were unhoused in the 2024-2025 school year.
What's next: California’s most recent budget includes $116 million to help schools identify and support students experiencing homelessness. The report’s authors say while that’s “encouraging,” more than one-time funding is needed.
Nearly 300,000 California K-12 students experienced homelessness in the 2024-25 school year, the highest numbers ever recorded by UCLA researchers and a 10% increase from the prior peak in the 2018-19 school year.
“The sheer magnitude of how many students are experiencing homelessness and how much it's increased, that was the biggest finding for us,” said Grace Kim, study co-author and research analyst at the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties account for half of the students experiencing homelessness in the state. About 62,000 — nearly 5% — of L.A. County students experience homelessness in the 2024-25 school year.
Researchers at UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools examined data collected by the California Department of Education between the 2017-18 and 2024-25 school years, including homeless student enrollment, attendance and test scores.
Students experiencing homelessness are more likely to frequently miss school and fall behind academically. While many students have started to score higher on the state’s standardized math and reading tests following pandemic-related declines, the percentage of students experiencing homelessness who meet the benchmarks is about 20% lower than their housed peers, the research found.
Black, American Indian and Alaska Native students experienced higher rates of homelessness than their peers of other races — about 1 in 12.
California’s most recent budget includes $116 million to help schools identify and support students experiencing homelessness. The report’s authors say while “encouraging,” more than one-time funding is needed to support students experiencing homelessness.
“Having integrated systems of support is also a super important factor,” Kim said. “The reason why we see these gaps in terms of academic achievement or chronic absenteeism … it's not [students’] fault.”
