The Brief

Federal prosecutors on Friday announced the indictment of the founder of a discredited Orange County nonprofit. Peter Anh Pham faces charges that he bribed an elected Orange County supervisor and then "pocketed" most of the $12 million in pandemic relief money gained under the contract.

The charges against Pham, announced Friday, go directly to the corruption in Orange County originally uncovered by an LAist investigation. Authorities described Pham, a 65-year-old Garden Grove resident, as a "fugitive from justice."

Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office, said Pham left the U.S. on a one-way ticket to Taipei, Taiwan in December 2024. McEvoy said he had no knowledge of Pham leaving the island nation since departing the U.S.

Pham's nonprofit, Viet America Society, hired the daughter of now-former Supervisor Andrew Do as a top official. Do is scheduled to be sentenced to prison on Monday after pleading guilty to a federal bribery charge tied to contracts he helped direct to Pham's nonprofit while his daughter Rhiannon Do worked there.

Pham faces 15 counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and bribery. Prosecutors describe him as "a friend and associate" of Andrew Do.

“Today’s indictments are another critical step in ensuring accountability — and consequences — for those who conspired to use the County of Orange’s COVID-19 funds as their personal ATMs," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release, adding that the goal is to "return those stolen funds to their rightful owners — the community for which these funds were originally intended.”

Another person, Thanh Huong Nguyen, 61, of Santa Ana, was also charged. She's scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Santa Ana on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of concealment money laundering. Nguyen could face up to 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors allege that Pham "and associate" had county funds issued to a Westminster-based company called D Air Conditioning Co. LLC.

"This company then issued checks from its corporate bank account to Pham, Pham’s associate, and one of Do’s daughters," according to authorities. In all, they allege Pham and Nguyen "unlawfully acquired approximately $12 million in county funds through this conspiracy."

LAist is attempting to reach out to Pham and Nguyen for response.

Do's former colleagues on the Orange County Board of Supervisors all applauded Friday's indictment news.

"Finally." That was Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley's response.

In an email statement, Foley summed up the complex scheme to defraud taxpayers and then mislead those who asked tough questions, and the roles that she said Do and Pham played together: “Andrew Do would not have been able to orchestrate the theft of $12 million in taxpayer dollars without Peter Pham, who knowingly accepted funds meant for vulnerable seniors and those facing food insecurity as a means to get rich quick and launder money back to Mr. Do and his daughter Rhiannon Do.”

She added: “Pham and Do added insult to injury by using deceptive marketing and promotional videos to mask their crimes and deceive the public. Finally, the co-conspirators involved in this orchestrated scam to steal from taxpayers will be held accountable.”

Fellow Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen, who now holds the seat that Do relinquished when he stepped down in disgrace, said, “I'm actually very happy that it's coming to an end and that they're finally getting all these individuals, but we do know though there's more out there. ... We're looking forward and hoping that more and more will come out of this and that all those who are part of it will be held fully accountable.”

Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento also said he was "glad to learn that charges have been filed against other parties involved in the bribery and corruption scheme, and it’s my hope that others involved will face justice and be stripped of monies they made at the expense of low income senior residents."

He added that "co-conspirators, enablers and those that aided and abetted must be found, prosecuted and made to reimburse the county residents. Law enforcement must pursue these white collar criminals with as much vigor as they do with low level offenders."

We will have more on this developing story. LAist's Jill Replogle and Yusra Farzan also contributed to this report.

Read the indictment

Catch up on the investigation

In November 2023, LAist began investigating how millions in public taxpayer dollars were spent. In total, LAist has uncovered public records showing more than $13 million in public money that was approved to a little-known nonprofit that records state was led on and off by Rhiannon Do. Most of that money was directed to the group by Supervisor Do outside of the public’s view and never appeared on public meeting agendas. He did not publicly disclose his family ties.

Much of the known funding came from federal coronavirus relief money.

• Read the story that launched the investigation: Top OC official helped direct millions to his daughter’s center without disclosing family connection
• Since LAist started reporting, we’ve also uncovered the group was two years overdue in completing a required audit into whether the meal funds were spent appropriately.
• And LAist found the amount of taxpayer money directed to the nonprofit was much larger than initially known. It totals at least $13.5 million in county funding — tallied from government records obtained and published by LAist. 
• After our reporting, O.C. officials wrote demand letters to the nonprofit saying millions in funding were unaccounted for. They warned the nonprofit that it could be forced to repay the funds.
• And, LAist found the nonprofit missed a deadline set by county officials to provide proof about how funding for meals were spent.
• On Aug. 2, LAist reported O.C. officials were demanding the refund of more than $3 million in public funds awarded by Do to VAS and another nonprofit, Hand to Hand.
• Six days later, LAist reported Orange County officials had expanded demands for refunds of millions in tax dollars from the nonprofits and threatened legal action.
• On Aug. 15, LAist reported O.C. officials sued VAS and its key officers and associated businesses, including Rhiannon Do. The lawsuit alleges that county money was illegally used to purchase five homes and was converted into cash through ATM transactions. 
• Then, on Aug. 19, LAist reported O.C. officials had announced a second lawsuit against Hand to Hand and its CEO to recover millions of taxpayer dollars that were directed by Supervisor Do.
• LAist broke the news on Aug. 22 that federal agents were searching Rhiannon Do's home in Tustin. Later that day, Supervisor Do's home, and other properties, were also raided.
• On Oct. 16, LAist reported that the wife of Supervisor Do's top aide was hired for a $275,000 contract. County officials say the work was never turned in and two days later LAist reported that a court filing confirmed a federal grand jury had been convened and subpoenas issued.
• Six days later, federal prosecutors announced Andrew Do had agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. They said Do accepted over $550,000 in bribes for directing and voting in favor of more than $10 million in COVID funds to VAS. He resigned as supervisor the same day.
• Andrew Do is scheduled to be sentenced to prison on June 9.

How to watchdog local government

One of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is pay attention.

Your city council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.

• Read tips on how to get involved.
• The next scheduled board meeting is Tuesday, June, 11. You can check out the O.C. Board of Supervisors full calendar here.
• Learn how to submit a public comment to the O.C. Board of Supervisors.

Rosalía's LUX is NPR Music's No. 1 album of 2025

At the moment this fall when NPR Music's staff began discussing our picks for the best albums of 2025, the mere existence of the record we'd eventually name our No. 1 — in a landslide, it must be said — was not known to anyone on our team. But as soon as we heard Rosalía's magnificent, head-spinning LUX in early November, one spot on our list was instantly confirmed.

For most of the year, consensus felt hard to come by. We all found plenty of music to love, but we weren't always drawn toward the same signals. LUX was different. Of the dozen critics and hosts who submitted lists (you can, and should, check out each of their lists, starting with their highest recommendations here), more than half included it in their top 10. Four of us said it was the best thing we heard all year. Below, each of them makes the argument for why it deserves that crown.

LUX is high art

It's hard to describe Rosalía's artiest and most audacious left turn without rattling off statistics and credentials. "She sings in more than a dozen languages!" "She's working with the London Symphony Orchestra, and also Björk, and did you know that Caroline Shaw helped with arrangements?!" A work rich in footnotes, LUX spills over with lore about female saints, enhanced by efforts to translate, unpack and otherwise reckon with it.

LUX is a work of high art, sure. But it's also frequently, boldly, at times breathtakingly beautiful — a work of craft and care, empathy and deep emotion. "Reliquia" mutates from an orchestral piece into an electro-pop reverie, with a tear-jerking piano interlude along the way, and its vocal remains pristine enough to induce gasps. That's just one song among 18. — Stephen Thompson

LUX transcends genre

Taking the full measure of what Rosalía pulls off on LUX is like trying to solve a single-line logic puzzle: Connect opera to maximalist pop to flamenco to electronica to Baroque orchestral music to rap (and much more) without lifting your pen or crossing any lines. It feels impossible. But Rosalía shows how with a profoundly stirring, unified feast for the ears. It's less reggaeton or bachata and more like reggaeton and bachata and Sigur Rós performing Les Misérables, with Feist and Maria Callas trading lead vocals.

But LUX isn't just sonic gymnastics. Deeply considered and exhaustively researched, it's a monument to both the incomprehensible mess and breathtaking wonder of being human, shifting seamlessly between fragile beauty and childlike magic to raw, lustful desire. It's as graphic and startling as it is rapturous and divine. And yeah, it's performed in 13 different languages, as Rosalía delivers a vast exegesis on everything from religion and sex to mortality and violence.

Arriving near the end of a brutally divisive year of attacks on identity and "otherness," LUX feels — and sounds — like the best possible reply, a necessary and potent reminder of the humanity that binds us and the miracle of being here at all. — Robin Hilton

LUX belongs in a lineage with one of the most beloved jazz albums of all time

After listening to LUX for the first time, I spent days trying to understand why it felt both new and familiar. Then it hit me: The more I listened and read Rosalía's deeply personal lyrics, the more it reminded me of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane's seminal spiritual statement, A Love Supreme.

Hear me out.

Rosalía prepared herself for this moment by dividing her album into four parts, exploring feminine mysticism, transformation, transcendence and intimacy, subjects that curiously echo A Love Supreme's album track listings of "Acknowledgement," "Resolution," "Pursuance" and "Psalm."

By the time Coltrane recorded A Love Supreme in 1964, he had already experienced what he called a spiritual awakening that helped him kick addictions to alcohol and heroin, while exploring the sonic and musical limits of his saxophone. A Love Supreme is his moment of coming face to face with God. On LUX, after almost an hour's worth of intense and very musical meditations on things like feminine mysticism, light versus dark as well as spirituality and sacredness, Rosalía also comes face to face with God. But she asks God to meet her halfway: "God descends and I ascend / We meet in the middle."

Both of these albums are artfully crafted statements by artists with uncommon powers of musical communication who share with us spiritual journeys so personal that at times they feel like invasions of privacy. LUX meets the musical legacy of A Love Supreme in the middle and picks up where that classic left off. — Felix Contreras

LUX is still, at its heart, a spectacular flamenco record

Flamenco feels like the sonic representation of the moment when Eve took a bite of the apple. Cast in an ancient fire so alive it's impossible to put out or pin down, its deceptiveness is its defiance. As experimental, big and seemingly novel as Rosalía's LUX is, it sounds like one thing: her spirit. Which — as she's chameleoned across the world — stays firmly rooted in flamenco's eternal flame.

She approached this record as she does all others: global eyes, an open heart and a Spanish soul. Flamenco is pastoral music, once used for basic communication and connection. Those original sounds — sweet lyrical lullabies and softly stroked strings — gave into temptation and fell in love with pain, fear, sadness, giving way to guttural cries and desperate strums.

On LUX, there's something beyond technical ingenuity or global experience to the way the music — and its maker — morphs from track to track. What ties an entire world of sounds and languages together is an artist who enters a sonic moment and complicates it, tears it down, ruining beautiful things with a deep human-ness. Flamenco is etched in concrete yet almost always vibrating, changing; striking palms cutting up some of the most shape-shifting, dynamic vocals on Earth. Ten notes within one, a hundred emotions in two breaths. Despite apparent sonic distance, LUX may be Rosalía's most flamenco album yet. — Anamaria Sayre

Read about more of NPR Music's favorite albums of 2025 and our list of the 125 best songs of 2025.

Graphic illustration by David Mascha for NPR.
Copyright 2025 NPR

With subsidies for the Affordable Care Act set to expire for millions of Americans at the end of the month, the Senate plans to vote on two health care related bills Thursday, but both are expected to fail.

In a trade-off to reopen the government following the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Senate Republicans promised Democrats a vote on a bill of their choosing to extend the subsidies. Democrats are seeking a three-year extension of the subsidies, warning that without one health care premiums are predicted to skyrocket at the start of the 2026.

While both parties agree on the need to address healthcare costs, the Democratic proposal doesn't have enough GOP support to pass. Republicans have argued that extending the subsidies would allow what they describe as Obamacare "waste, fraud and abuse" to continue, while lining the pockets of insurance companies.

"There is nothing in their [Democrats] bill that stops billions of dollars in fraudulent spending," Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Republicans are countering with a plan by Cassidy and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, that would provide up to $1,500 a year in payments for health savings accounts for Americans earning less than 700 percent of the federal poverty level.

However the bill does not extend the ACA tax credits and the money could not be used to pay for health care premiums. Deductibles for those plans average around $7,000, according to data from the health policy organization KFF.

"It delivers the benefit directly to the patient, not to the insurance company, and it does it in a way that actually saves money to the taxpayer," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

Democrats rejected the GOP proposal on Wednesday and called it dead on arrival. They criticized the plan for limiting coverage to plans on the ACA marketplace that provide less coverage. Funds could also not be put towards abortion services or gender reassignment.

"The Crapo-Cassidy bill would not extend the ACA tax credits for a single day. That's what's driving the price up, and they're doing nothing about it," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said during a press conference Tuesday.

Democrats also pushed back on the GOP timeline, as Republicans have spent weeks debating an alternative health care bill and only unveiled their proposal on Tuesday.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., criticized the GOP for waiting to unveil a health care plan. Speaking from the Senate floor on Wednesday, Reed said time was of the essence as 24 million Americans face losing their subsidies at year's end. He argued that instead of waiting until the eleventh hour to unveil a health care plan, the GOP can approve an extension now and deal with changes to the substitutes later.

"There is no time to implement it," Reed said of the Republican plan. "The solution is simple: extend the Affordable Healthcare tax credits."

While Schumer said all Senate Democrats are unified behind their vote to prolong the ACA subsidies, Thune was unsure if every Republican would back the measure from Cassidy and Crapo.

Copyright 2025 NPR

A Van Nuys high school senior in federal immigration detention since August has been released to his family.

Men claiming to be immigration agents arrested Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz while he walked the family dog in Van Nuys on Aug. 8. The 18-year-old was held in San Bernardino County’s Adelanto Detention Facility and at one point transferred to a facility in Arizona without his family’s knowledge.

U.S. Rep. Luz Rivas announced the update about Guerrero-Cruz on the House floor Thursday morning.

“My heart goes out to his family, especially his mother, who can hold her son again after months of fear and uncertainty at the hands of ICE,” Rivas said. “I’m glad that Benjamin is home, and I hope he and his family can begin the healing process.”

It was not immediately clear if there were further conditions of his release.

A senior Department of Homeland Security official previously told LAist in a statement that the Chilean teen overstayed a tourist visa and was required to leave the U.S. in 2023.

Between June and October, federal authorities have arrested more than 7,100 undocumented immigrants in the Los Angeles area, the Department of Homeland Security told the L.A. Times. LAist has requested updated numbers.

A recent survey of high school principals across the country found that since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, there has been widespread concern among students from immigrant families, which has contributed to school absences, bullying and harassment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The busyness of the holiday season is upon us, but I like to take advantage of all the driving around to detour and see the light displays while cranking up the Christmas songs and singing along. It makes the traffic a little more festive and bearable, even if it also means getting jealous that Santa doesn’t have to contend with the light at Wilshire and Santa Monica.

For the music scene, it’s a big weekend. The annual KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas is on at the Forum on Saturday with Social Distortion, Wet Leg and many more; Friday, you’ll need to clone yourself to get to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony in Anaheim, Erasure’s Andy Bell at the Fonda, Mountain Goats at the Teragram Ballroom and The Strut’s Luke Spiller at the Sun Rose. Licorice Pizza’s Lyndsey Parker has more on the weekend lineup here.

Elsewhere on LAist.com, prep for World Cup watching with our pub guide, meet the man who rode Disneyland’s Radiator Springs rollercoaster 15,000 times and grab tickets to Saturday’s Go Fact Yourself with Paul Feig and Anjali Bhimani.

Events

Jacob Jonas Dance Company: EYE

December 12-13, 8 p.m.
Charlie Chaplin Stage at the Jim Henson Company Lot 
1416 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood
COST: $57.75; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Jacob Jonas Dance Company

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Jacob Jonas Dance Company has worked with some of the biggest musical artists out there, from Sia to Rosalía to Elton John. The company brings its EYE performance to the Jim Henson lot, featuring Sara Mearns, Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet.

Pixmas Creative Night Market

Friday, December 12, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. 
Unfriendly Studios
10419 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood
COST: $6; MORE INFO

Find the perfect gift from local vendors, including jewelry, crafts, candles and more, all while enjoying a flowing bar, five live performances and a late-night vibe in NoHo. Proceeds will go to a local nonprofit.

Blue Roof Art Walkthrough and Potluck 

Sunday, December 14, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
7329 S. Broadway Ave., South L.A.
COST: FREE WITH RSVP; MORE INFO

Check out Blue Roof Art’s latest exhibition — Homecoming — while meeting friends and neighbors in South L.A. for a potluck at the unique art venue, which supports women artists by providing studio space and financial resources. Bring a dish or drink to share and wander through the show, which features work from Blue Roof alumni.

South Bay New Orleans Jazz Club

Sunday, December 14, 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
Alvas Showroom
1417 W. 8th Street, San Pedro
COST: $15; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Alvas Showroom

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Couldn’t score a ticket to Jon Batiste at the Grammy Museum? Look no further than the South Bay New Orleans Jazz Club for your fix of bayou music this weekend. The Night Blooming Jazzmen will provide the tunes; just bring your dancing shoes for an afternoon of boogie.

Percy Jackson Quest

December 13-14, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Getty Villa 
17985 Pacific Coast Hwy., Pacific Palisades
COST: FREE, FEE FOR PARKING; MORE INFO

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David Boukach

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Disney

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Where better to explore the legends of Greek gods than at the Getty Villa? Bring the Percy Jackson obsessive in your house to the Getty Villa for a scavenger hunt through time in celebration of the new season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+. Successful questors will learn a lot — and receive a prize!

Scrooge!

Through Sunday, December 21 
Chance Theater at the Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center
5522 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim
COST: FROM $54; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Chance Theater

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Scrooge!, the Albert Finney movie version of the Dickens classic, gets the stage musical treatment at the Chance Theater in Anaheim ahead of Christmas. Fun for the whole family, the movie won its composer an Oscar back in 1992, and the charm hasn’t gone away. Ready your mince pies and travel back to Victorian London from right here in Anaheim.

Camino City Terrace

December 13-14, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
City Terrace Drive, East Los Angeles
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy L.A. County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis

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Ramble through car-free streets in East L.A. all weekend long thanks to Metro. Nearly two miles of city streets in the City Terrace neighborhood will be pedestrianized (and the weather forecast looks great for it). Plus, there will be music, crafts, local vendors and dancing in the street — literally!

Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern

Through Sunday, January 4
Montalban Theatre
1615 Vine Street, Hollywood
COST: FROM $37; MORE INFO

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Daniel Boud

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Courtesy Broadway in Hollywood

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I really want to make some pithy jokes that all the D&D players will get and then send me emails thanking me for my deep nerddom, but alas, this is not my area of expertise. Know that I support you and want nothing more than for you to go and enjoy this live stage version of the popular role-playing game, on through early January at the Montalban.

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair 

Friday, December 12, 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Vista Theatre
4473 Sunset Blvd., Los Feliz
COST: $18.50; MORE INFO

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Miramax Films

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All of Kill Bill (Volumes I and II) in 70mm. At Quentin Tarantino’s Vista Theatre. Need I say more? Oh, wait, I do. There’s a new, unreleased anime sequence and a classic movie intermission. Happy holidays, indeed.

Genghis Cohen Hanukkah Ice Cream

Starting Friday, December 12 
Genghis Cohen 
448 N. Fairfax Ave., Hollywood 
COST: FROM $8; MORE INFO

Genghis Cohen and Arcadia-based 626 Hospitality are launching a Hanukkah ice cream collab, aptly named Rum DMC (Delicious Morsels of Challah), a rum raisin challah bread pudding ice cream featuring challah from L.A.’s Challadad. Rum DMC is available by the scoop ($8) while dining at the restaurant, or by the pint ($15) with pick-up orders.

Chocolate & The Chip Gather & Bake event

Saturday, December 13, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Blending Lab
5151 West Adams Blvd., West Adams
COST: $12.75; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Chocolate & the Chip

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Gather 'round for make-and-bake cookies with Chocolate & The Chip at The Blending Lab in West Adams. Your ticket includes cookie mix and all the additional ingredients; just bring a medium to large mixing bowl and your favorite mixing tool, such as a fork or hand mixer.