The last 20 hostages are back home. And yet I can't help thinking about Hersh and all of the others who died in captivity. A bittersweet day.

I bet @awalkerinla.bsky.social and others will remember that Diane Keaton was deeply involved in the effort to save The Ambassador Hotel. She loved old LA as much as all of us and used her star power for good. May her memory be a blessing.

The Family Stone is always a tearjerker, but it's going to be unbearable this year.

Baby Boom, The Godfather, Annie Hall, The Family Stone, Looking for Mr. Goodbar. This is such a gut punch.

I hate this news. Diane Keaton brought an honesty and a lovely quirkiness to every role. A legend.

The palpable envy in the room when someone says, "I have dual citizenship in the US and [some other country]."

Someone wished me a peaceful Yum Kippur and I can't say I hate it.

Takeaways from another must-listen ep: ➡️ Institutions won't usually stand up to aspiring authoritarians *without external pressure* ➡️ Non-violent movements have best chance of succeeding ➡️ Solidarity is crucial - we'll need to work together ➡️ Learn from experts like @hardymerriman.bsky.social

Jewish elected and community leaders stood in solidarity with UCLA and the entire UC system, pushing back against the federal government’s unprecedented $1 billion demand and its freeze of $584 million in groundbreaking research funding on UC campuses. www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/w...

As always, @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social President @msroth.bsky.social cuts through all of the noise to clearly define what is so wrong with this moment: "We are being subject to a White House that thinks it can tell us what to do at every turn."

"I have like 25 mob associations critical to the business life of Donald Trump. You can say anything about him and he isn't going to sue you. But if you say he's not worth what he claims he's worth. he's going to sue you." The late Village Voice reporter Wayne Barrett: video.wosu.org/video/new-yo...

The former model agency head turned diplomat who introduced Trump to Melania is on the board of the Kennedy Center? www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/f...

Aaaaaand Epstein’s prosecutor has been fired.

Mamdani has engaged thoughtfully with many of us in recent weeks and, as a result, said today he understands how harmfully Jews hear rhetoric like "globalize the intifada” & discouraged its use. There's much work ahead but these comments matter. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/b... @emmagf.bsky.social

Is Coming Home really not streaming anywhere?

Have we talked about how perfect Forever on Netflix is? Mara Brock Akil took Judy Blume's classic, transforming it into a show that's a coming-of-age love story somehow capturing exactly how teens & their parents are feeling in this magical & sometimes painful stage of life. And a love letter to LA!

This is a must listen, especially now.

We feed you. They hunt us.

Have to admit, Newsom is cooking.

One takeaway from this must-read from Garrett Graff: FEMA will most likely not be there for you if you've survived a hurricane, wildfire, or other disaster. Now is the time to build or replenish your emergency kit and go-bags for your home, car, and workplace. www.ready.gov

Yeah, the security lines to get into high holy day services this year are going to be airport-security-on-first-day-of-Real-ID level, aren't they

This is a common phenomenon that's not unique to this site. As a reporter, I post things about antisemitism in America as part of my job. The posts do not mention Israel. I will nonetheless get many reflexive replies saying "anti-Zionism is not antisemitism." These people are telling on themselves.

My safety in America as a Jew is not contingent on what happens in a war on the other side of the planet. My safety as a Jew in America is not contingent on sharing your politics about it either. Decent, sane people will agree with this. Extremists, who crave dead Jews, will not.

This seems like an easy, yet meaningful way to protect Southern California's beautiful oak trees.

Appreciate when journalists connect the dots between Trump's devastating cuts to important federal programs and life-saving treatments former presidents and everyone else benefit from. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/h...

"The building is the Coachella Valley's first and only full-service fertility center and in vitro fertilization lab, according to its website." www.desertsun.com/live-story/n...

Listening to @janemayer.bsky.social, @sbg1.bsky.social, and @eosnos.bsky.social on The Political Scene is like being a fly on the wall at a fantasy dinner party with longtime political journalists who somehow always have original takes on the issues of the day. www.newyorker.com/podcast/poli...

This feels like the kind of public service announcement we could all use. Roz Chast's 2026 calendar is available for pre-order. bookshop.org/p/books/roz-...

The relationship between the Witkoff and Trump families run even deeper than corruption and nepotism. Weird but true: Steve Witkoff's son Zach (co-founder of World Liberty Financial & business partner with the Trumps) named his son after Donald Trump. Dear Leader approved.

Congrats, @emilynussbaum.bsky.social for making @uofcalifornia.bsky.social Berkeley's summer reading list for new students! FWIW, I'll be gently nudging my rising 11th grader to read some of these titles tis summer. www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/summer...

Yet another Holocaust piece? If you know @taffyakner.bsky.social's work, you know this is not to be missed.

That's it. Not "the CDC is important". But rather -- the CDC is fucking OURS. We own it. We built it. We turned it into a powerhouse. You don't get to take it or blow it up because it gets in your way of making a buck. It's ours.

They tried to elect a Nazi-aligned government in Germany. Now they’re trying to elect a Nazi-aligned government in France. But they want us to believe their targeting of universities is all about their passion for fighting antisemitism. Boy, they think we’re stupid.

My @nehgov.bsky.social grant “In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Short Fiction by Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union” was canceled by “DOGE.” The project doesn’t support "the furtherance of the President's agenda.” Jews surviving genocide: out of step w/ the agenda of using Jews to destroy higher ed.

Is it just me or do Trump's cabinet meetings remind anyone else of the "baseball" scene in The Untouchables?

Regarding Trump's "high aptitude for music," this is...quite a quote from Steven Cheung. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/a...

6 years ago tonight, I went to tiny Bar Lubitsch in West Hollywood to hear Mayor Pete, who was virtually unknown outside of his hometown of South Bend, Indiana. Left super impressed and convinced we'd see much more of him in the years to come. #TeamPete

You guys, WTF is going on in the nest?? What happened to chick #3? Are the other two starting to struggle? Why are Jackie and Shadow starting to leave the chicks unattended when it's too early and too cold to do so safely? 💔 @ologies.bsky.social @deehellcat.bsky.social @dicedcarrots.bsky.social

Takes less than 30 seconds to donate.

God, I love her so much.

Welcome to California, former federal employees! ☀️🌴🏄‍♀️ www.gov.ca.gov/2025/03/03/g...

Sure seems like we're heading towards another Kent State.

Think it's time to turn off the horrid news and start the weekend's Gene Hackman movie marathon for us and the teen. The Birdcage + Superman + The Royal Tenenbaums + Mississippi Burning + The Firm.

Just yesterday while on PBS News Hour I said that I will have confidence that federal vaccine policy is uncompromised as long as the external advisory committees continue to meet. Now meetings for both VRBPAC and ACIP have been cancelled. I don't like this.

So - I've actually led Ebola outbreak response at USAID. This is bunk from Elon. They have laid off most of the experts, they're bankrupting most of the partner orgs, have withdrawn from WHO, and muzzled CDC. What's left is a fig-leaf effort to cover their asses politically.

Unlike most new hires in the Trump admin, Amy Gleason actually seems qualified. But as a "fierce patient advocate based on her firsthand caregiver experiences after her then 11 year old daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease in 2010, seems unlikely she'll last long. www.hlth.com/2022event/sp...

Stand with the @apnews.com, stand with the First Amendment!

The flying public needs answers. How many FAA personnel were just fired? What positions? And why?