Hello, it’s Thursday, May 4, and here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:

TOP STORIES

Hollywood’s writers strike might last a long time

Hollywood’s Writers Strike that triggered nationwide protests and halted productions this week could be the beginning of a months-long standoff.

The Writers Guild of America and the media companies abandoned their talks hours before a Monday night deadline to reach a new deal, stunning industry observers who had anticipated a long and suspenseful night.

But negotiations had collapsed earlier in the day when it became clear the two camps were far apart on key issues — and that neither side was willing to bend to close the gap, according to interviews and WGA documents.

More about the strike

Los Angeles and Orange County guide to finding an apartment

Apartment hunting in Southern California is notoriously difficult. In the last two years, the search turned particularly nightmarish. But now, a little bit of sanity is returning.

If you’re looking for a new rental, don’t expect a deal, but you may find the search less maddening.

Labyrinths explode in popularity after the pandemic

Labyrinths and mazes are often confused, but they’re not the same. A maze is a puzzle — false turns and dead ends are built into the design. A labyrinth, on the other hand, offers a single path, circuitous and indirect, that leads the walker to center, and then out again.

You cannot get lost in a labyrinth as long as you follow the path. Perhaps then it is no surprise that in a time when so many people feel they have lost their way, interest in labyrinths has soared.

How two friends sparked L.A.’s sushi obsession

An unlikely pair of Southern California businessmen paved the way for the sushi revolution in Los Angeles, upending American dining — and their own lives.

The aim was to create a sushi ecosystem for Los Angeles. Would it work? The glittering omakase bars of Beverly Hills, the hipster hand-roll spots of downtown L.A. and the strip-mall gems of Ventura Boulevard would seem to answer that question.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

CALIFORNIA

Need abortion legal help in California? There’s now a hotline for that. California joined law firms and advocacy groups to create a hotline that provides information and pro bono services for people who need abortion legal help.

A rare black bear is the first to be tagged and tracked in the Santa Monica Mountains. Biologists think the bear, now known as BB-12, is 3 or 4 years old and could be the cub that made headlines in July 2021 wandering through a Thousand Oaks neighborhood.

California lawmaker Dave Min was arrested and cited with drunk driving. State Sen. Dave Min of Irvine says he was cited with misdemeanor drunk driving in Sacramento. Min is a Democrat running for an Orange County congressional seat.

NATION-WORLD

What’s with the weird spoon, jeweled orb and scepters at King Charles III’s coronation? The oldest piece of English regal regalia is … a spoon. It was certainly used at the coronation of King Richard the Lionhearted almost 900 years ago, but for what purpose, no one’s exactly sure — certainly not for eating.

A teenage boy kills eight children and a guard at school in Belgrade. Police identified the shooter only by his initials, K.K., and said he had opened fire with his father’s gun. He was arrested in the school yard, police said.

258 million people worldwide faced acute food insecurity in 2022, a report says. The report found that the number of people facing Acute Food Insecurity and requiring urgent food aid had increased for the fourth consecutive year, a “stinging indictment of humanity’s failure” to implement U.N. goals to end world hunger.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

‘I’m stopping’: Ed Sheeran vows to quit music if he loses Marvin Gaye copyright trial. “If that happens, I’m done — I’m stopping,” said Sheeran, 32, appearing to vow he would quit music if he loses, according to the New York Post. “I find it really insulting to work my whole life as a singer-songwriter and diminish it.”

Commentary: These TV dads are gruff and brutally violent, but they are also nurturing. These gruff, protective TV dads are a stark contrast to one of the most pervasive archetypes of the medium: the lovably incompetent dads most often seen in sitcoms.

Remember the $120,000 banana artwork? An art student just made it a snack. Pop-art icon Andy Warhol crafted a silkscreen banana print. Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan duct-taped a banana to a wall. Seoul National University art student Noh Hyun-soo removed the latter banana and ate it.

Snoop Dogg coming to Hollywood Bowl to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ‘Doggystyle.’ Snoop and Dr. Dre, who is billed as the show’s producer, will take the famed stage for two nights, June 27 and 28.

BUSINESS

Elon Musk’s giving out Twitter Blue for free. Experts say this could mean legal trouble. Beyond angering celebs, Musk’s move could be flouting U.S. Federal Trade Commission regulations surrounding consumer protection and false advertising.

SPORTS

Bryce Young proved size doesn’t always matter, inspiring quarterbacks everywhere. Bryce Young has shown every step of the way it’s instincts, work ethic, preparation, technique, intelligence, speed, quickness, judgment, arm strength and elusiveness that matter over size at quarterback.

Column: Anthony Davis’ historic effort is just what the Lakers need to beat the Warriors. In a redemptive Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, Davis was tough, he was clutch, and goodness, how he punched, Bill Plaschke writes. Leading the Lakers to a 117-112 victory, Davis dominated from the deafening start to the murmuring finish.

Sierra Canyon’s Jacelyn Gonzaga, 15, only has a driver’s license for drag racing. The 15-year-old sophomore at Sierra Canyon can’t wait until she turns 16 and gets her California driver’s license. She has a little secret, though. She’s been driving more than 100 mph for months.

OPINION

Opinion: Florida revives an 1850s strategy to exclude Chinese Americans. Under the guise of national security, Florida lawmakers seem poised to crush Chinese immigrants’ dreams of homeownership.

Opinion: How a misreading of the Bible fuels many Americans’ apathy about climate change. Their apathy is driven not only by their well-documented distrust of science but also by a specific eschatological belief that Jesus is coming soon to bring history to a rather climactic end. Scripture says no such thing.

ONLY IN L.A.

L.A.’s love of raw fish with rice started in Little Tokyo in the 1960s, at its first sushi bar serving Tokyo-style nigiri. Popular American sushi culture was born.

Now more than ever, we look to the fundamentals and sushi’s roots in Tokyo as a growing roster of omakase restaurants explore the nuances of traditional techniques. But L.A. has lots more to offer, for any craving.

Here’s where to find the best supermarket sushi, ultimate California rolls, homestyle futomaki and inari, vegan sushi, sleek hand rolls and the most spectacular omakase in the city.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

On May 4, 1961, the first Freedom Ride—a political protest against the segregation of interstate bus travel in the South—began as a group of white and Black Americans departed Washington, D.C., on buses bound for New Orleans.

Along the way, the Freedom Riders encountered violence, most severely in Alabama. On May 14, upon stopping outside Anniston to change a slashed tire, one bus was firebombed and the Freedom Riders were beaten.

After arriving in Birmingham, the second bus was similarly attacked and the passengers were beaten. In both cases, law enforcement was suspiciously late in responding.

In 2021, the Times’ Nicholas Goldberg wrote about how the police and the FBI colluded in the attacks against the Freedom Riders.

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