Los Angeles Times

“Across the country and, indeed, across California, there is a growing war over what kids can be taught about queer issues,” Times reporter Kevin Rector writes in a new personal essay. “Conservatives want to ban the mere mention of queer people in schools and forbid LGBTQ+-inclusive school curricula. They want to ban drag queens from reading to kids, ban pride flags in classrooms and ban pride merchandise in stores. They want to ban young adult books with queer characters, ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender kids and try again to ban same-sex marriage, which provides many queer kids with hope for a fulfilled future,” he writes. “With the protection of children as their stated rationale, today’s most ardent conservatives have taken up as a cornerstone of their political platform the idea that our nation and its children would be a lot better off if everyone under the LGBTQ+ umbrella were shoved collectively back into the closet, so that the rest of the country might move forward pretending we don’t exist.” “But we do exist. And thank goodness,” writes Rector. “LGBTQ+ people have helped define this country. Our contributions to the nation’s cultural identity are indelible.” This essay is published as part of “Our Queerest Century,” a Times series highlighting contributions of LGBTQ+ people since the 1924 founding of the nation’s first gay rights organization. Read it, and the rest of the stories in the series, at the link in our bio. 🎨 Rachelle Baker @indoorcargirl / For The Times 📸 Sakuma / Associated Press

Rising temperatures are pushing California’s power grid to its limit — again. Forecasters say extreme heat will bake the state this week, starting what is expected to be the longest heat wave of the year. Northern California, the Central Valley and the southwestern deserts in particular are bracing for dangerous temperatures through the extended Fourth of July holiday weekend and into early next week. Here’s what you can do to stay cool without power, before and during an outage. Read more at the link in bio.

Caleb Williams, the quarterback who changed the trajectory of USC football, is one of the many forces featured in L.A. Influential, our new series highlighting individuals who have shaped every cultural corner of the city. The former USC player was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft by the Chicago Bears. Read the full profile in L.A. Influential at the link in bio.

These days, many traditional fireworks shows have been replaced by quieter, less environmentally damaging drone light shows — but there are still plenty of dazzling fireworks displays that are expected to comply with environmental rules. Pro tip: Before you head out the door, check for any Fourth of July event restrictions, postponements or cancellations. See the list in bio for all 50.

Not many victims of the opioid crisis in America make national headlines. Tyler Skaggs was different. The 27-year-old was a professional athlete, a pitcher for the Angels, wealthy and famous. On a road trip with the team, he was found in his hotel room. He had choked on his own vomit after consuming a mix of alcohol, oxycodone and fentanyl. His death on July 1, 2019, sent shock waves through the sports world. A highly publicized criminal investigation not only revealed that Skaggs had secretly used painkillers for years, but also led to the arrest of a team employee accused of providing him with tainted, black market pills. Five years later, The Times has pored over hundreds of pages of court documents and cellphone records to reconstruct Skaggs’ final hours. See the full investigation at the link in bio.

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that former President Trump cannot be prosecuted for his official acts while in office, but left the door open slightly for his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. Before today, the Supreme Court had not ruled on whether a president or ex-president can be prosecuted for a crime. The closest case came in July of 1974 when a unanimous court rejected President Nixon’s claim of executive privilege and ordered him to turn over this White House tapes to investigators pursuing the Watergate scandal. Read the full story at the link in bio.

Summer is now upon us, which means more time in the sun — and more exposure to the ultraviolet radiation it emits. Longer-wavelength ultraviolet A rays can reach beneath the skin’s surface, causing it to age prematurely. Shorter-wavelength ultraviolet B rays affect the outermost layers of skin, causing sunburns and tans. (A third type of rays, ultraviolet C, is intercepted by Earth’s protective ozone layer.) Both UVA and UVB damage the DNA in skin cells, causing mutations. These mutations can accumulate over time and cause tumors to grow. The more UV exposure you have, the greater the risk, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Sunscreens can protect you from these malignancies in one of two ways. Chemical sunscreens contain ingredients such as avobenzone that absorb UV rays. Mineral sunscreens rely on zinc oxide or titanium dioxide to block or reflect the rays. Either way, the solar radiation is unable to penetrate the skin and corrupt your DNA. Read about more myths at the link in bio.

Magic mushrooms have been used in Mesoamerican religious rituals since pre-Hispanic times. A mural from the ancient city of Teotihuacán, just outside Mexico City, shows the Toltec rain god Tlaloc with two figures alongside him holding mushrooms that have risen from where his raindrops fell. A Franciscan missionary documenting 16th century life in New Spain referred to the mushrooms as the “flesh of the gods.” But it wasn’t until the 1950s that a New York banker and mushroom enthusiast named R. Gordon Wasson made Mexico’s magic mushrooms famous — perhaps too famous — in the Western world. The fungi can currently only be used in Indigenous rituals — where the healer will use mushrooms to communicate with their spiritual world to inquire about a patient’s illness — or in government-approved research. But a senate bill proposes making psilocybin, a psychedelic compound in the mushrooms, more widely available. The bill would permit therapy that uses the actual mushroom that a government office of traditional medicine would help regulate. It also calls for scientific research on Indigenous medicine and providing compensation to Indigenous people for “patents” involving their traditions. The push to legalize magic mushrooms in Mexico dates back to the early days of the pandemic. Alejandra Lagunes, a senator in Mexico’s national congress, started to experience anxiety attacks that were reminiscent of the severe depression she suffered in her 20s. The depression from decades ago, she said, was resolved after she took ayahuasca — a psychoactive brew made from the Amazonian Banisteriopsis caapi vine — with an Indigenous healer. But while the initiative has supporters at Mexico’s National Institute of Psychiatry, where scientists have government permission to investigate the potential therapeutic effects of magic mushrooms, and some from Indigenous communities, others, including doctors and psychiatrists, are apprehensive. If the bill passes, “It’ll be taken like an aspirin,” said Isaias Escudero Rodriguez, a local doctor. It will no longer have the “spirituality that it carries for us.” Read more at the link in bio. 📷 Alejandra Rajal

Planning a wedding is a highly personal experience, reflecting your tastes, values and vision as a couple. But one thing is universal: It’ll likely cost more than you think. In a survey by the Knot that polled nearly 10,000 U.S. couples who married in 2023, the average cost of a wedding was $35,000 — a $5,000 increase from the previous year. California was ranked as one of the top 10 most expensive states to host a wedding, with an average cost of $41,000. It’s money that many couples just don’t have. With the cost of weddings continuing to rise across the country, we wanted to know how much Californians have spent on their weddings in recent years and whether they regret it. Some couples spent well below the state average; while others spent more than $50,000. Read more at the link in bio. 📸: Sam Turchin, Sarah Jane Hardt, The Gathering Season, Klaui Varadi Photography, Bryan Aulick Photography, Esteban Torres

You can’t spell “laugh” without “LA” (or “ugh”…). Introducing a new digital series from the L.A. Times: “Jokes On L.A.” It’s — well, it’s exactly what it sounds like: #JokesOnLA . 😂 In this episode, we spotlight the comics of @laughingstock_la : @itsliarich @seanhamrin @celinekuk @jonathan.adam.dunn @notallinfluencers @jennmarsala @cee_everything & @lizpollack You might have seen them perform at their sell-out Saturday night show at the @lyrichyperion in Silver Lake or their back-to-back month-long sellout runs at the 2022 and 2023 #EdinburghFringe Festivals. You can catch ‘em later this Summer on their upcoming tour of the UK and collaboration with @donttellcomedyparis — or at their last U.S. show pre-tour, Saturday June 29th at the @lyrichyperion . But more than buzz or individual success, Laughing Stock founders and producers Charley Lanyon and Jennifer Marsala say that their comedy collective “represents a growing movement that goes to the heart of what is wrong with the notoriously toxic stand-up scene.” “Instead of putting on traditional comedy shows, we have modeled ourselves on historic artistic collectives,” and fostered a sense of community and collaboration through writing groups and annual retreats, “where ideas and punchlines are shared freely— all in the spirit of community and mutual support.” Dive deep into L.A.’s robust comedy scene at the link in @latimes_entertainment ’s bio or at latimes.com/comedy 🎥 Produced by @ducassi #comedy #losangeles #standup #funny #la #standupcomedy #comedyvideos #comedyreels

The late regional Mexican singer #JenniRivera became the recipient of the 2,783rd star on the iconic #HollywoodWalkofFame on Thursday, as her five children accepted the accolade on their mother’s behalf. “It’s such an honor to be the daughter of such an amazing woman, a woman that accomplished so much,” said Janney Marin Rivera, better known as Chiquis, during the ceremony. “But more than anything, being the daughter of a woman who left her footprints on this earth and in so many people’s hearts.” Chiquis, along with siblings Johnny Lopez, Jacqie Rivera, Jenicka Lopez and Michael Rivera, were joined by Mexican singer #GloriaTrevi , who befriended Jenni Rivera before she died in a plane crash in December 2012. “Today is a very special day. Today we are honoring and celebrating the beautiful life and art of a brilliant distinguished woman,” Trevi said. “Today, love and talent defeat death, because Jenni Rivera, ‘la Diva de la Banda’, ‘la Mariposa de Barrio,’ la hija, la hermana, la mujer, la amiga, la madre, lives through all of us who love her and admire her.” ➡️ Head to @delosangelestimes ’ link in bio to read the full story ✍️ @franco22_m 📸 @carlinstiehl

"Not a good night for Biden. Not a proud night for Trump. A sad night for the United States," writes Times columnist Steve Lopez who enlisted three experts to watch the debate with him. He asked them "not to do a political analysis, or to make a medical diagnosis," but to express their "take on command, coherence, competence, composure, reason and skills of communication and articulation." "I was focused on a single question while watching President Biden debate former President Trump. At their advanced ages — Biden at 81, Trump at 78 — is either up to the task of running the country?" Read more at the link in bio.