Topline:
A 100-year-old pipline ruptured in West Hollywood early Thursday, causing flooding and a massive sinkhole.
Why it matters: The force of the flooding sent cars slamming into each other, and triggered widespread road closures and the Metro bus system detours and delays.
Read on ... to learn more about what areas are affected (and to see some dramatic video).
A water main break near Palm Avenue and Harratt Street sent waters flooding through West Hollywood early Thursday, causing a massive sink hole.
Roads have been closed off and residents warned to stay out of the area, with dramatic footage posted online of water rushing down streets and cars slamming into each other:
Because of the highly pressurized water system, emergency crews said Thursday they must work slowly and carefully to avoid causing more damage. Several roads were closed and Metro system buses detoured — see details below.
A leak from an over 100-year-old trunk line caused the rupture, authorities said. The line has been shut down, as well as two large valves to the east and west. Anselmo Collins, chief operating officer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, assured residents that drinking water is not affected and remains safe to drink.
“We are also coordinating on the ground with law enforcement and will be working with traffic control as we make progress and assess and begin repairs,” wrote LADWP in a statement.
Residents are encouraged to take pictures of any damage from the flooding in case a claim needs to be filed later, and keep any receipts or other documentation.
Here's what we learned about this process, starting with the most important tip — act as soon as possible:
Avoid the area if at all possible. But if you need to venture in, here’s what you need to know:
The following bus routes have been delayed or detoured.
LAist will continue to update this story as we learn more.
Topline:
A brush fire burning in Wildwood Canyon above Burbank has prompted evacuation orders for DeBell Restaurant and Golf Course and Stough Canyon Nature Center, according to the city of Burbank.
What we know so far: The Walnut Fire broke out Saturday afternoon near the intersection East Harvard Road and Wildwood Canyon Road.
Read on ... for more on evacuations and weather conditions.
This is a developing story and will be updated. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:
Evacuation orders for DeBell Restaurant and Golf Course and Stough Canyon Nature Center remain in place for a fire burning in Wildwood Canyon above Burbank.
Evacuation warnings for Churches Ct. and Country Club Drive were lifted at 6:20 p.m.
As of 5:55 p.m., the fire had burned 40 acres and 70% contained, according to Burbank.
The Walnut Fire broke out Saturday afternoon near the intersection East Harvard Road and Wildwood Canyon Road.
Hiking trails around the area are closed. The Starlight Bowl concert scheduled for tonight has been canceled.
Check out LAist's wildfire recovery guide
If you have to evacuate:
Navigating fire conditions:
How to help yourself and others:
How to start the recovery process:
What to do for your kids:
Prepare for the next disaster:
Topline:
A report Friday from the Labor Department shows that employers cut 23,000 jobs last month, and job gains for May and June were revised sharply lower.
Why it matters: The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1%, but only because more than 260,000 people dropped out of the workforce.
Why now: It was the second month in a row that the monthly jobs tally came in weaker than forecasters had expected.
The U.S. job market unexpectedly stalled in July.
A report Friday from the Labor Department shows that employers cut 23,000 jobs last month, and job gains for May and June were revised sharply lower.
The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1%, but only because more than 260,000 people dropped out of the workforce.
It was the second month in a row that the monthly jobs tally came in weaker than forecasters had expected.
"We are increasingly hearing from workers that they are anxious about their job security and they are frustrated by the fact that they are stuck in roles that are not necessarily good for them," said Daniel Zhao, chief economist at the job search website Glassdoor. "And that's on top of workers who are not in a job right now and feel frozen out of the job market."
Glassdoor's worker confidence index slumped in July to a record low.
Restaurants and retailers cut thousands of jobs last month, and local government also saw large job losses. Healthcare continued to add workers, but at a more modest pace than earlier in the year.
The softening job market may complicate the Federal Reserve's job, since it's also battling stubborn inflation. The Fed may be more cautious about raising interest rates at a time when the labor market appears less stable.
For people who are working, average wages have risen 3.2% in the last 12 months. That's likely not enough to keep pace with inflation, however, so workers' paychecks don't stretch as far as they used to.
"Part of the reason that workers are feeling bad about today's job market," Zhao says, is that "a lot of those wage gains have been eaten up by rising energy prices."
Copyright 2026 NPR
Topline:
Every Sunday night, a semi-secret event at the tony Los Angeles Athletic Club lets anyone experience a near-private concert from jazz legends — for just $10.
Why it matters: The revolving cast draws from a repertory group of about 15 artists, including: saxophonist Rickey Woodard, who played for Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald and more; trumpeter Nolan Shaheed, who backed Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Stevie Wonder.
Read on ... to find the details of this hidden gem ...
It seems that jazz is everywhere in Los Angeles. Blue Note opened a club last year, venues like Sam First, Catalina’s, Vibrato and the Baked Potato draw large crowds, and hotels and bars are adding jazz to their schedules.
But every week, a semi-secret event at the tony Los Angeles Athletic Club lets anyone experience a near-private concert from legends such as Rickey Woodard, who played saxophone for Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and others; and Nolan Shaheed, trumpeter for Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye and more.
That’s before you get to the evening’s singer, who might be 96-year-old pianist Betty Bryant, former Raelette Val Monroe or singer and Grammy-winning songwriter John Proulx.
Until recently, the Sunday night Jazz Salon was free. Now it charges a nominal $10 per person, which is still an outrageous bargain, so be sure to add something to the tip jar on the piano, and maybe try one of the cocktails or the steak frites.
Walking into the club earlier, you see black-and-white photos of all types of healthy pursuits on the walls, as well as trophies and mementos of the club’s nearly century-and-a-half history. Plush sofas, high ceilings and book-filled shelves are the order of the day, and alongside members in gym gear or lugging laptops, you go up in one of the elevators to the third floor, where the Jazz Salon takes place.
Earlier in the day, Dave Ross, 76, was setting up the amps, drum kit, mixer and mic stands. He also administers the website, acts as MC and plays double bass as part of the ensemble. He began the venture over a decade ago, when he persuaded the LAAC, of which he had long been a member, to host concerts in their redecorated restaurant and bar.
Ross draws from a repertory group of about 15 artists, and the concert takes place opposite the bar in a wood-paneled room of just a few dozen leather chairs and tables. This small scale makes the night intimate and unique.
Location: Invention (3rd Floor), The Los Angeles Athletic Club, 646 S Olive St., Downtown Los Angeles
Time: Sundays, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM (with a brief intermission)
Cost: $10 cover charge at the door
Make reservations and check out the weekly artist schedule
“No gig is ever the same,” says Ross. “We don’t rehearse, and every time we play a song, we're never trying to play it the same way we played it before.”
That makes the night fun, too. Since you’re right near the musicians, you can hear their laughter and banter, as well as their impressive solos. Ross, stage left, stays out of the limelight — which is how he prefers it — and often says he's just happy to be there playing.
“You're there to keep the beat, the pulse of the music,” he says. “And then, secondarily, the notes that you play help the other musicians understand what the chord, what the harmony is. I'm just doing it for the pleasure of playing the music.”
Once a month, Ross and some of his stable join a touring artist — recently five-time Grammy-nominee Karrin Allyson — in the club’s 250-seat ballroom for a more formal ticketed event, but there have been just two complete sellouts of them this year: tributes to Bill Evans and Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond.
Donations and the tip jar on Sunday evenings sometimes haven’t been enough to break even, either, which led to Ross reluctantly introducing the $10 charge. No matter what, he is determined the Jazz Salon will keep going.
“When I was younger, there was a receptionist I knew who was a nun. She said: “‘You know what your problem is? You’re too optimistic!’”
Topline:
Lime Truck founder and two-time Great Food Truck Race champion Daniel Shemtob is approaching strangers across L.A., asking what their mom's best dish is, and turning it into a taco on his food truck the same day. It's all part of a new five-episode series, Better Than Your Mom, launched on what would have been his mother's birthday.
Why it matters: What starts as a quick, chaotic street-corner challenge opens into something bigger — a Long Beach woman honoring her late mother-in-law's gefilte fish recipe, and a chef processing his own mother's death and the loss of his home in last year's Palisades Fire, one taco at a time.
Read on … for how a stranger's yes turns into a family's story, and what happens when a taco truck becomes a place to grieve, honor and remember.
Daniel Shemtob has been going around Los Angeles asking strangers this question: "What's your mom's best dish?"
He then turns their answers — from Filipino oxtail adobo to the Ashkenazi Jewish favorite of gefilte fish — into a taco for his new five-episode web series, "Better Than Your Mom."
One episode breaks from the format entirely: a head-to-head chopped salad taco challenge between Shemtob and Vanessa Silverton, daughter of famed L.A. chef Nancy Silverton, judged blind by Nancy herself.
A two-time winner of "The Great Food Truck Race" on the Food Network, Shemtob is no stranger to reality TV — he also founded The Lime Truck, serving Cali-Mex cuisine in Orange County.
What starts as a quick, chaotic street-corner challenge opens into something bigger — a Long Beach woman honoring her late mother-in-law's gefilte fish recipe, and a chef processing his own mother's death and the loss of his home in the 2025 Palisades Fire.
Despite loving fine dining, Shemtob said nothing beats the experience of having someone invite him to their mother's home for dinner.
"It's by far my favorite thing," he said.
That urge to connect with other people also came from wanting to celebrate his late mother's legacy and the impact she had on him in the kitchen.
"Eating was like a big part of how we shared and celebrated," Shemtob said. "It was a culture that was built around food."
While most walk past him or decline to talk, Shemtob said he's been surprised by how many strangers say yes almost immediately — like Anne Gundry, a retired biology teacher in Long Beach.
She answered with a dish from her mother-in-law from her first marriage — gefilte fish served cold.
Gundry recalled her first meeting with Dena Levenstein, who would become her mother-in-law. The relationship started out cold — but cooking together changed their dynamic.
"That's where I honestly think we had the deepest bond with her," Gundry said.
Gundry described yearly visits to Levenstein's house as a cooking "apprenticeship," where Gundry was taught to cook by feel — adding ingredients by the handful, testing a dish's consistency by touch.
"She used to say, 'How does it feel?'" Gundry recalled. "And I'd say, 'I don't know, I don't know how it's supposed to feel.'"
Over the years, she learned. Now, Gundry teaches her own children that recipe the same way — without referring to what's written down.
Watching Shemtob cook on "Better Than Your Mom," Gundry was skeptical. Her own process takes over two hours; his took 20 minutes — until she tasted the apple-horseradish slaw he added.
"Brilliant," she said. "I've been trying to duplicate it at home."
You can find Shemtob's videos on his YouTube channel.
