The Brief

The top four leaders in Congress are scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump on Monday afternoon at the White House, just ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government and avoid a shutdown.

The Oval Office meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is set to occur ahead of an expected Senate vote on a short-term stopgap bill.

House Republicans narrowly passed a continuing resolution earlier this month that would fund the government through Nov. 21. That measure failed in the Senate because of Democratic opposition. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber; they need 60 votes to pass the legislation.

"We are resolute in our determination to avoid a government shutdown and address the Republican health care crisis. Time is running out," said Jeffries and Schumer on Saturday in a statement regarding the White House meeting.

A meeting redo

Monday's Oval Office meeting comes after President Trump abruptly canceled a planned meeting last week with the two Democratic leaders.

"After reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands being made by the Minority Radical Left Democrats in return for their Votes to keep our thriving Country open, I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive," Trump posted on social media.

Democrats are pushing to make permanent expanded tax cuts from the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at the end of the year, and repeal cuts to health care programs that were put in place as part of the GOP's spending and tax bill bill passed earlier this summer.

Republicans are pushing to fund the government first, and then negotiate on the subsidies.

"[The expiry date] doesn't happen until the end of the year. We can have that conversation," Thune said on Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. "But before we do, release the hostage, set the American people free, keep the government open and let's have a conversation about those premium tax credits. I'm certainly open to that."

But top Democrats have repeatedly said a handshake agreement on a future negotiation about the subsidies isn't enough.

"We need a serious negotiation," Schumer said in a separate appearance on Sunday's Meet the Press. "Now, if the president at this meeting is going to rant and just yell at Democrats and talk about all his alleged grievances and say this, that and the other thing, we won't get anything done. But my hope is it will be a serious negotiation."

The clock is ticking

Without congressional action, government funding will expire at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1.

While critical services would continue, like Social Security and payments from Medicare and Medicaid, there could be delays in processing new applications for those programs.

In a shutdown, anything deemed nonessential is put on hold, so Americans could experience delays in certain services and hundreds of thousands of federal workers will go without pay.

In a move to seemingly raise the stakes, the White House's budget arm instructed federal agencies to prepare to lay off workers permanently, instead of the traditional temporary furlough.

Congressional Democrats panned the memo as an intimidation tactic.

"This is nothing less than mafia-style blackmail," Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told NPR. "Essentially, the president is threatening to fire dedicated federal employees who have nothing to do with the ongoing political and policy dispute."

If the administration makes good on its threat, it could mean that whenever the federal government does reopen, it would have a smaller workforce.

Copyright 2025 NPR

More than a century after it first opened its doors, the Vermont Square Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library still is operating out of its original building, nestled among the homes on West 48th Street.

It’s not just a library. For generations, it’s been considered a safe place and gathering spot for people who otherwise may have no place to go. Today, the neighborhood council uses the room in the library’s basement for meetings, the grassy area out back is a place to relax, and for some, the building is a refuge from hot- and cold-weather days.

Of course, people also go there to read books, for free access to the internet and for children’s programming. But they also go there to find peace and quiet amid the hustle and bustle of inner-city Los Angeles.

“It feels safe. It’s pretty big. It’s nice inside and comfortable. There are people to talk to, and I can meet friends,” resident Moses Rogers told The LA Local.

The Vermont Square Branch was built in 1913 on what had been park land donated by the city of Los Angeles. It was funded with a Carnegie Foundation grant, the philanthropy of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who funded the arts, higher education and public libraries after making his fortune in steel in the late 19th century.

The library is not the oldest branch in the city system, but it’s the first library building owned by the city. All other city libraries and facilities were housed in rented spaces.

It was designed in the architectural style of the Italian Renaissance, and you still can find the original circulation desk, windows that allow in natural light, old furniture and marble fixtures inside the library.

Branch manager Martha Sherod has worked at the library for 13 ½ years and calls the Vermont Square Branch a hidden treasure that some in the neighborhood can overlook. She said some people think it’s a government building, but for the people who grew up using the library, it symbolizes being home.

“People come here for a purpose, they want to be here. We really like serving them,” Sherod told The LA Local. “Now that I’ve been here so long, I’ve seen kids grow up from being little kids to college students. So, it’s really been a joy for me.”

Sherod said the branch holds about 24,000 items and has 4,500 visitors a month on average. The library also offers adult and teen programming, including free legal advice, health screenings, arts and crafts and book club activities.

“The library isn’t just for quietly sitting and reading. There’s usually a lot of good activities happening. There are resources that you can use at home by downloading or just coming in here,” Sherod said.

The Vermont Square Branch was designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission in 1983 after the community rallied to keep the building from being replaced. The exterior of the building remains the same, although the library was retrofitted for earthquake safety in 1990, a process that caused the branch to close to the public for six years.

Longtime Vermont Square resident Fletcher Fair told The LA Local she’s been going to the branch since the late 1960s, and the library will always be a cornerstone of the community.

“It’s the neighborhood library, and that’s where everyone went and prospered. We hung out, studied and partied,” she said. “There were a lot of events here.”

The first measles case of the year in Los Angeles County has been confirmed by the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

County public health officials said Friday a county resident who recently traveled abroad has been confirmed to have measles. Authorities have not identified any locations, other than healthcare settings, where the person could have exposed others.

Affected healthcare facilities are contacting patients and employees about potential exposure. County officials also are in the process of identifying those who may have had contact with the person.

Measles spreads easily through the air and can stay on surfaces for many hours. Those infected can spread the virus before showing symptoms, which can take weeks to appear.

Symptoms include a fever above 101 degrees; cough; runny nose; red, watery eye; and a rash that typically starts on the face.

So far, 588 measles cases of measles have been reported in the U.S. this year, the highest number of cases in a January since the U.S. eliminated measles in 2000. Most of these cases are linked to outbreaks in South Carolina, Arizona and Utah.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health is encouraging Angelenos to check their immunization statuses for a measles, mumps, rubella vaccine to determine if they’re protected against the virus.

Residents also should notify their health providers for guidance in the case of a potential exposure.

If symptoms develop, contact a healthcare provider via phone as soon as possible. L.A. Public Health advises people not to go physically into a health care facility before notifying them of measles symptoms.

The leaders of the Los Angeles Unified teachers union now have the power to call for a strike if they can’t reach a deal over pay, benefits and student support with the district.

United Teachers Los Angeles’ has about 37,000 members. Of those that voted, 94% voted in favor of authorizing a strike. The tabulation process lasted late Friday night, and results were announced overnight Saturday.

Union members, which include school psychologists, counselors and nurses, simultaneously voted to approve an agreement that preserves existing health benefits without increasing costs to educators.

The strike authorization vote does not guarantee teachers will stage a walk out this semester. First the union must exhaust all steps of the collective bargaining process.

Stephanie Castro teaches 7th grade English at Luther Burbank Middle School in Highland Park and voted for the strike authorization.

“ I will do what needs to be done to fight for these proposals,” Castro said. “I want to make it super clear to Angelenos that teachers don't want to go on strike. We absolutely would rather be in our classrooms with our students… We also know that things cannot continue as they are.”

In a statement Saturday, the district pointed to other recent agreements with its labor unions, while also citing fiscal challenges related to declining enrollment and other factors: "We recognize the real financial strain on educators and staff, but must make difficult decisions to preserve classrooms, student services, and long-term stability within finite resources."

How did we get here? And what happens next?

UTLA’s bargaining team has met with the district more than a dozen times since negotiations began last February.

The union declared an impasse in December, a legal step that triggers intervention from a neutral mediator appointed by the state’s labor relations board.

Wednesday, the mediator determined the two parties would move to the next step in the process, fact-finding, where a representative from the union, the district and the California Public Employment Relations Board collectively develop a recommendation to settle the negotiations.

The rejection of this panel’s recommendation could lead to a strike— or more negotiating.

As in previous contract talks, the proposals that cost the most money are those that take the longest to hash out.

The union is asking for raises and changes to the salary schedule so that newer teachers who complete professional development can earn increases more quickly. UTLA estimated before mediation, that this would amount to an average pay increase of 16% the first year and 3% the following year. The annual ongoing cost to the district would be about $840 million.

The district has said it cannot afford what the union has proposed and has offered annual increases of 2.5% the first year and 2% the second year with a one-time payment of 1%.

“Significant distance remains between what the District can responsibly offer and what UTLA proposes,” read a Jan. 28 statement from LAUSD.

The union’s other proposals include more investment in arts education, legal aid for immigrant families, and staff to support students’ mental health.

Castro, the middle school teacher, said she notices a difference when her students have access to the school’s psychiatric social worker and other wraparound services.

“It allows them to be fully present in the classroom,” Castro said. “They're not so worried about things that are happening outside of it and can really focus on that essay that they need to write or developing a thesis statement.”

Are you a UTLA member? Share your thoughts on why your union needs a new deal — or doesn't — with me via email.

It's not everyday you can credit one of the world's biggest pop stars for rekindling your memories of a place.

So, thank you, Harry Styles, for reminding us of the mesmerizing, confounding, iconic and the brashly weird wonders of the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown L.A.

Last week, the singer returned to pop music after a four-year respite with the surprise release of a new album. Along came the first music video for “Aperture,” a breezy electronic number that unfolds as a non-sequitur romp through a sleek hotel — beginning as an inexplicable chase, then breaks into a long, nifty dance sequence, and crescendos in a hat tip to Dirty Dancing.

The absurdity makes for a nice fit.

In the video, when Styles steps onto the escalator before realizing he is being followed, a distant recognition went off in my head.

The escalator at the Bonaventure.

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The Bonaventure has no bad angles.

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That hunch grew more certain when he and his pursuer tumbled down a spiral of staircases that's almost Hitchcockian in its composition.

Spiraling staircase inside the Bonaventure.

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The Bonaventure's curved skylight.

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And later, when the two somersault through a cocktail lounge with Los Angeles twinkling in the backdrop, the setting could only have been The BonaVista, the revolving restaurant (yes, it really spins) on the 34th floor of the Bonaventure.

Making a cameo

Styles is the latest among a long list of artists and moviemakers to make use of the location. In 1993's In the Line of Fire, Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich had their big shoot-out finale there, and managed to squeeze in a little repartee inside one of its famous capsule elevators. More recently, Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s "Luther" and Maroon 5 and LISA's "Priceless" prominently featured the hotel.

Bonaventure under construction in the mid-1970s.

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The Bonaventure in 1987.

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Since it opened in January 1977, the behemoth — towering hundreds of feet over Figueroa Street with some 1,400 rooms and the reigning title as Los Angeles's largest hotel — all but demanded the attention.

The Bonaventure was built between 1974 and 1976 in the midst of Bunker Hill's redevelopment that started two decades back with land seizures through eminent domain and the evictions of thousands of low-income Angelenos.

The ambition was to remake the urban core into a world-class arts and cultural destination.

The atrium of the Bonaventure.

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Architect and real estate developer John C. Portman brought his signature vaulting atrium to the task. For the Hyatt in his hometown of Atlanta, that feature was 22 stories high. For the Bonaventure, the atrium was seven.

Raw concrete of the Bonaventure.

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The staircases.

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Portman's idea was to create a city within its walls, and populated his creation with shops, restaurants and other amenities so people simply wouldn’t have to leave.

The Bonaventure’s interior has been described as Brutalist in style, a raw concrete maze of dangling lounges, shooting columns, swirling staircases, curved walkways, glass elevators and seemingly dead ends. Its mirrored and cylindrical exterior has been called postmodern and futuristic.

Bonaventure in 1977.

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The Bonaventure in 1989.

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A returned visit

I have always thought of it looking a little dated, like a sad disco ball.

A few days ago, I went to the Bonaventure again for old times’ sake. I took this same walk several times a week for six years, when I worked downtown in the mid-aughts. Back then, this network of pedways was really our only way to get to any place for coffee or lunch.

View of the Bonaventure taken from the 3rd and Fig. pedway.

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The Bonaventure was one of our options, with its food court on the fourth floor. Sometimes, I spent my lunch simply walking its various floors, entranced by the vast, hushed space that felt somehow endless and somewhat abandoned. I have always thought it was the perfect setting for a chase scene.

On my latest visit, the lines and curves were clashing and crisscrossing in ways that I hadn't before noticed. Cultural theorists have famously written about the disorientation the building is said to inspire — how easily you can feel lost.

And what a privilege it is.

Thanks, Harry, for the nudge to go and spend a couple leisurely hours getting lost in a quintessentially Los Angeles riddle.

Everyone should do it.