The Las Vegas Sphere, a curved dome theater with a high-resolution LED screen, has become the highest grossing arena in the world with residencies by legendary bands. Attendees experience a new relationship to the stage due to its unique design.
The Las Vegas Sphere has become the highest grossing arena in the world. Since opening three years ago, it's offered residencies of legendary bands like The Eagles, U2 and Phish.
The curved dome houses a 366-foot-tall and 516-foot-wide screen that resembles that of a planetarium, making it the largest high-resolution LED screen on earth. LAist listeners who've been there say it's reshaping the relationship to the stage. They said it's better to sit higher up, arguing the sound and visuals are better. The Las Vegas Sphere has become the highest grossing arena in the world since opening three years ago.
It's featured residencies by legendary bands like U2 and Phish.
“All of that which is around you is being controlled and created by the artists and the people that are involved in the production,” saidThe creative outlet the Sphere provides artists is thanks to cutting-edge technology. The curved dome houses a 366-foot-tall and 516-foot-wide screen that resembles that of a planetarium, making it the largest high-resolution LED screen on earth.
, professor of architecture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, says Las Vegas is the pioneer of integrated resorts — mega buildings that blend concepts of casinos, restaurants, stores, and other amenities. He says the Sphere is doing the same thing in the performing arts venue space.
“Typically, a stage is framed, and your attention is focused straight ahead, but the Sphere really inverts that,” he said. UC Irvine offers a themed entertainment and immersive entertainment class every three years as part of a graduate program. Some alumni of the program actually worked on the Sphere’s development.
“We look at the world and space with our design faculty and look at how we can prepare people for this field,” Veenstra said. “One word: amazing. You’re looking up, you’re looking down, and the stage is just a minuscule part of the experience. It can be really fun.
” –“ You wanna sit two-thirds of the way up in the center. There's a block there, which is actually the sound booth. The closer you are to that, the better…” –, who saw Dead and Co’s residency and said he thinks the space could also be used for educational purposes.
“I saw the Eagles, and it was phenomenal. Being up higher is actually more advantageous than being down on the floor, which is kind of the opposite of what our normal thought pattern is.
” –Sphere Entertainment Co., owned by business and sports mogul James Dolan, who most notably owns the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden, plans to bring the Sphere concept to “There's a lot of opportunity because people want an experience that's lived and feel something different than just staying at home on their screen,” Veenstra said.
“It's kind of like what the theater has historically been, but now enhanced. ”Something is killing birds all along California beaches, from Orange County to San Diego and up the coast toward Ventura County and beyond. Around March 1, the team at International Bird Rescue started receiving four times the usual number of calls from residents across Southern California. They’ve all been about dead birds.
Calls to their helpline went from 10 calls a day about dead birds to 40. There are currently no hard facts explaining what is causing dead birds to wash up along the coast of Long Beach and Southern California. But so far, the CEO of International Bird Rescue, JD Bergeron, says the strongest theory is the birds are starving because of climate change.
According to the NOAA IEA Program, an oceanic heat wave known as “The Blob” has been present in the Pacific Ocean for the past seven years.
“The Blob” is a mass of water with elevated temperatures moving around the Pacific Ocean. Fish dislike warm water, so when “The Blob” moves into specific regions, fish either dive deeper into colder temperatures or move farther away into colder waters. As we walked and talked, we saw the usual suspects — abandoned toothbrushes, deodorant sticks and empty laundry detergent containers blowing like tumbleweeds.
The cleaning products dirtying the stretch of sand didn’t make me want to put on my shoes, but the birds did.
“Is that a seagull? ” I asked. It was dead. A few more steps and we saw a cormorant, one of those black, glossy birds that are always sunbathing with their wings out.
Dead. A few more steps. Another seagull. Dead.
More steps. Then another cormorant. Along a 1.5-mile stretch, I saw eight dead birds. At first, I was sad.
Then I was overwhelmed. But eventually, I got curious and decided to look into it. It was shocking to see that something was killing birds all along California beaches, from Orange County to San Diego and up the coast toward Ventura County and beyond. A user in Santa Barbara summed up the situation succinctly, if without proper grammar: “Was at Ellwood Beach yesterday, counted 14 dead birds, spaced about one every 30-40 feet.
” There was nothing specifically about Long Beach that I could find, though I did learn there’s a bar in Japan called “Little Long Beach” in the r/longbeach Reddit community. I got an answering machine with prerecorded instructions: If you see a bird that needs help, find a box, place the bird in the box, put a cloth over the bird, put the bird in a specific area and do not offer it food or water.
Next, I called the Long Beach Lifeguards Headquarters and spoke to someone on background — they weren’t authorized to speak to me — who told me finding dead birds was nothing new, but the number of dead birds they’re seeing was anything but normal. Then they told me I should talk to the people I called first, International Bird Rescue, because that’s who they called when they found 30 birds dead on the beach one day.
The man with the metal detector A few days later, I went back to the scene of the crime — for lack of a better term — and saw a man with a metal detector scanning the sand along Long Beach City Beach. I noticed a few things: He was built like a wrestler — tall and dense — and was wearing camouflage shorts, a matching hat and a white shirt and, this will be important later, he was not carrying a shovel.
He also told me the dead birds I saw were a drop in the ocean compared to what he’s been seeing lately.
“Every time I go to a beach, I see about 10 dead birds. Maybe that’s natural, but I think it’s a lot. ” When he spots the birds, he doesn’t do what I do, which is gasp and move on. He puts on a pair of gloves and buries them with his hands.
“You’ll never know it’s there. Unless your kids start digging in the sand,” he said. The man with the metal detector declined to give me his name because he didn’t trust the media. But he did tell me the theory he had about how the birds died.
Across the ocean, about 2,000 feet in front of us, was an island with a beige concrete tower wrapped in blue lines. He pointed to it.
“That one, right in front of us. That’s an oil rig,” he told me.
“All these islands out here that look all pretty are oil rigs. ” His theory is that oil is being pumped into the ocean and when seabirds dive for food, they get oil all over themselves. That’s why they wind up on the shore. The man with the metal detector was pointing at the THUMS Islands, an acronym for Texaco, Humble, Union, Mobil and Shell.
In the 1960s, those five companies leased multiple oil fields together off the coast of Long Beach and produced 150,000 barrels a day at their peak. But recently, production shrunk from 15,000 to 8,000 barrels a day. The city of Long Beach“These birds were not oiled,” JD Bergeron, the CEO of International Bird Rescue, told me a few days later in a phone interview.
Bergeron is based in the Bay Area, but his organization also has a wildlife center in San Pedro. Around March 1, Bergeron and his team at International Bird Rescue started receiving four times the usual number of calls from residents across Southern California. They’ve all been about dead birds. He told me their helpline went from 10 calls a day about dead birds to 40.
“When the numbers start to come in more rapidly, we get nervous,” Bergeron said, adding that his organization is exploring several causes for the uptick in dead birds. But he reiterated that none of the dead birds had been covered in oil.
“I don’t know exactly why the birds are dying,” Long Beach resident Adam Novak told me. Novak has been walking the beach almost every day for 15 years.
“I’m sure it’s probably eating the trash. It’s pretty dirty out here. ” I let Novak get on with his day and walked 1.5 miles from Junipero Beach to Rosie’s Dog Beach. I passed the Belmont Pier, the Belmont Plaza Pool and multiple moms with kids buying fruit in plastic containers and individually wrapped ice cream from various futeros and paleteros.
Along the shoreline, I stepped over every size of trash imaginable, from small salsa containers to an abandoned pair of mismatched white Pumas to a large black suitcase you would definitely have to check on an airplane. At one point, I spotted a dark figure 100 feet away floating in the water and debated whether it was a cute seal bobbing around or a mattress. But Novak’s trash theory is not on International Bird Rescue’s list of causes to explore.
When one of the first carcasses was found this year, Bergeron said they had to rule out the worst-case scenario for the cause of death: bird flu. Bergeron compared bird flu to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s highly contagious and incurable, and it was the reason Thankfully, when the bird flu test came back, it was negative. Bergeron and his partners had to go back to the drawing board, but at least they could exhale.
The next theory International Bird Rescue had to rule out was harmful algal blooms called red tide that are caused by fertilizer run off into the ocean. The fish eat the algae, and then the birds eat the fish, potentially causing the birds to die.in Long Beach in 2022.
But Bergeron’s team wan’t able to link it directly to the surge in dead birds.drone crashedBut so far, they hadn’t found an isolated freak incident like that, which led Bergeron to his strongest theory: The birds are starving because of climate change. , an oceanic heat wave known as “The Blob” has been present in the Pacific Ocean for the past seven years.
“The Blob” is a mass of water with elevated temperatures moving around the Pacific Ocean. Fish dislike warm water, so when “The Blob” moves into specific regions, fish either dive deeper into colder temperatures or move farther away into colder waters. Even though Bergeron was hesitant to wholeheartedly point to “The Blob” as the single contributing factor, he admitted it outweighs all the others.
“From my perspective, it’s hard to see any version of this in which the temperature of the water is not a factor. ” The truth is that there are currently no hard facts explaining what is causing dead birds to wash up along the coast of Long Beach and Southern California.
But there is one fact that cannot be ignored: As we head into the summer months, when families and tourists flock to the beaches, the dead birds will be there. Some seen and some buried in the sand. Maybe, then, the question isn’t what is causing their deaths, but who is responsible for cleaning them off the beach?
“I wish I had a good answer there,” Bergeron said. “I don’t think that there is necessarily anyone whose responsibility it is to pick up dead birds. ” Residents who see a dead bird can call City of Long Beach Animal Care Services at 562-570-7387. But someone there told me they consider “dead animal pick-ups an non-emergency.
” It may take the city 24 to 72 hours to respond. By then, the tide may have shifted, and who knows where the dead bird will be. Or they can do what an unassuming retired man with a metal detector does: put on some gloves and dig. Matthew Perry poses at a photocall for "The End Of Longing", at The Playhouse Theatre, on Feb. 8, 2016 in London, England.
Erik Fleming, a former drug addiction counselor, was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the overdose death of Friends actor Matthew Perry. He will also have to pay a $200 fine and be under supervision for three years following his prison sentence. : Fleming pleaded guilty to two felony counts — conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury.
Fleming sold 51 vials of ketamine to Perry, knowing the actor’s struggles with drug use, according to court documents. : Perry died in October 2023 in his Los Angeles home. The L.A. County medical examiner determined the cause was “acute effects of ketamine.
” According to the plea agreement, Fleming worked with Sangha to distribute ketamine to Perry. On Oct. 28, 2023, Perry's personal assistant injected the actor with at least three shots of ketamine provided by Fleming. : In a letter to the court, Fleming wrote, “As a certified drug counselor and addict, I knew it was illegal and wrong to distribute black market drugs. I had met Matt a few times and knew about his struggles with substance abuse.
I should never have agreed to acquire ketamine for Matt. ”Fleming is the fourth defendant sentenced in Perry’s overdose death. For their roles in Perry’s death, San Diego physicianIf you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
At $6 a gallon, California drivers are paying the highest gas prices in the nation. Gasoline supplies look stable for the next six weeks but are uncertain after that as California leans more on imports. The pain at the pump is colliding with California’s ambitious push away from fossil fuels, as refinery closures, supply disruptions and a deepening debate over reliance on imported oil and gas raise new questions about whether the state can keep gasoline affordable during the transition.
California can confidently forecast gasoline and crude oil shipments coming in through about mid-June, and supply looks stable through that window, Siva Gunda, vice chair of the California Energy Commission, told an Assembly oversight hearing last week. Eleven weeks into the Iran war and a global energy shock, California drivers are paying the highest gas prices in the nation, an average of $6.15 a gallon this week.
The pain at the pump is colliding with California’s ambitious push away from fossil fuels, as refinery closures, supply disruptions and a deepening debate over reliance on imported oil and gas raise new questions about whether the state can keep gasoline affordable during the transition. Here are five things to know about how Sacramento is responding to the crisis and what it could mean for prices in the months ahead.
California can confidently forecast gasoline and crude oil shipments coming in through about mid-June, and supply looks stable through that window, Siva Gunda, vice chair of the California Energy Commission,California can outbid the rest of the world for gasoline and crude oil, pulling shipments away from Asia and other markets. But that bidding war comes at a cost, and consumers will pay it at the pump, Gunda told the committee.
To hedge against that uncertainty, Gunda said California is negotiating long-term supply deals with Asian refiners that could lock in another three to six months of certainty. The Iran war has exposed California’s growing reliance on imports of both crude oil and gasoline. The state needs to import more supply as in-state refineries shut down.that imports can be a benefit. They add competition and lower prices, since newer overseas refineries often produce gasoline more cheaply than California's.
Other experts agree. UC Berkeley energy economist Severin Borenstein, also at the hearing, said California's resilience now depends on building out port, pipeline and storage capacity to handle imports, not on bringing new refineries online. , Gunda said at the hearing last week. The state met about 20% of its refined-product demand through imports in the year before the war began.
But the oil industry is pushing back, saying that relying on increased imports is the wrong strategy. California's fuel system has been"weakened by design" by state policies pushing refiners out of the state, said Jodie Muller, president and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association — a characterization energy economists dispute. , shipments can be tougher to source and take longer to arrive, exposing consumers to delays and volatility every time something goes wrong globally..
“If you think we are in a precarious position right now, we will continue to see more and more volatility. ” And the oil industry argues that the playing field is tilted. California refiners face some of the strictest rules in the world, the industry argues, while imported gasoline is produced under far weaker standards before it’s shipped halfway around the world.
California requires importers to certify their fuels meet its standards, but the industry argues that foreign producers operate under less stringent environmental rules. In the end, what you feel most acutely is the price you pay at the pump. And even the experts aren't sure where things will land. Asked what consumers should expect if the conflict drags on, Gunda said California prices will likely settle"under seven, more like $6.50.
" He explained that demand starts dropping once gas crosses about $5.50 a gallon, and California is already seeing drivers shift from higher-priced stations to cheaper ones. Borenstein is less optimistic. If the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carried more than 20 million barrels of oil a day before the start of the war, stays closed another 60 days, the price of crude could climb by another $40 to $80 a barrel, he said.
Each $40 increase translates into.
“I know we all hope that doesn't happen and that the flow of oil resumes, but the reality is we are on borrowed time as we run down inventories. ”California has spent years trying to push drivers out of gas cars. Now sky-high gas prices may be sparking interest in some consumers.
EV sales in California slumped last year after the Trump administration revoked a key federal tax incentive, undercutting California’s plan to steadily replace gas-powered cars with electric ones to meet its climate goals.under negotiation in the budget. It’s too early to know whether pain at the pump is translating into a broad rebound in EV demand. But some consumers are already making the switch.
When gas prices recently climbed past $6 a gallon in Redding, Victor Ireland said his daughter decided there was “no way” she wanted a gas-powered car after watching the family spend more than $140 on a single Sacramento round trip in their minivan. The search wasn’t easy. EV inventories have dropped across the country since expiring federal tax credits briefly boosted demand.
The family searched dealerships across the West, from Washington to Kansas, after his daughter settled on a specific model: the Fiat 500e Giorgio Armani Collector's Edition. They found a dealer in Utah that could ship the vehicle to California. Ireland said the soaring cost of gasoline only reinforced his family’s decision.
“You just charge it and go,” he said. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took the stand on Tuesday to defend himself against accusations from co-founder-turned-adversary Elon Musk that he"stole a charity" by converting the maker of ChatGPT into a for-profit juggernaut.
The trial, now in its third week, pits two of the tech world's biggest personalities against one another in a high-stakes clash that could usher in major changes for one of the world's leading artificial intelligence companies and potentially alter the AI landscape.into the machinations of some of Silicon Valley's most ambitious tech entrepreneurs as they debated the future of AI and wrangled over investment plans and control of OpenAI. It would go on to become a global leader in AI thanks to the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took the stand on Tuesday to defend himself against accusations from co-founder-turned-adversary Elon Musk that he"The trial, now in its third week, pits two of the tech world's biggest personalities against one another in a high-stakes clash that could usher in major changes for one of the world's leading artificial intelligence companies and potentially alter the AI landscape. Musk's lawyers made the case that OpenAI, Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, with the help of investments from Microsoft, jettisoned OpenAI's founding mission of being a non-profit focused on creating advanced AI for the benefit of humanity.
Instead, the Musk team argues that they enriched themselves by creating a for-profit subsidiary that now effectively controls the nonprofit. OpenAI's legal team has argued that Musk is motivated by sour grapes and is out to damage a competitor. And on the stand Tuesday, Altman pushed back against the notion that Musk actually cares about OpenAI.
"Mr. Musk did try to kill it," he said, adding that Musk launched a competitor called xAI, tried to poach its talent, and alleged that he engaged in"business interference. " The dispute goes back nearly a decade to when the founders of OpenAI — including Musk — decided they needed to create a for-profit entity in order to attract top talent and raise big money to develop competitive AI technology.
Musk, who donated $38 million to OpenAI early on, wanted control of the for-profit; the other founders were against it. On the stand, Altman testified that the co-founders felt no single person should control AGI, or artificial general intelligence, and that Musk was not a good fit for the company.
Musk left the board in 2018, and Altman called that a morale boost for employees who did not like his"hardcore" approach.into the machinations of some of Silicon Valley's most ambitious tech entrepreneurs as they debated the future of AI and wrangled over investment plans and control of OpenAI. It would go on to become a global leader in AI thanks to the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.
OpenAI's lawyers have drawn on once-private text messages and emails to try to paint Musk as power-hungry and initially supportive of plans for the for-profit to attract huge investments. The OpenAI team also tried to undermine Musk's credibility by highlighting messages that appeared to show that he tried to poach talent from OpenAI before he left the company's board, and was kept appraised of its decisions after leaving by then-board member Shivon Zilis, who is the mother of four of Musk's children.
Musk's lawyers, meanwhile, have tried to make the case that Altman and Brockman were intent on reaping personal profits from OpenAI despite its original nonprofit mission. OpenAI's nonprofit still exists, and owns the for-profit entity, now valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars. But Musk argues that it has been sidelined. While cross examining Altman, Musk's attorney Steven Molo tried to undercut his credibility, asking if he was trustworthy.
"I believe so," said Altman. When Molo asked Altman if he always told the truth, Altman replied:"I'm sure there are some times in my life when I did not.
" Asked if he had been called a liar by business associates, Altman said:"I have heard people say that. " If the United States District Court for the Northern District of California finds Altman, Brockman and Microsoft liable for Musk's two civil claims —"breach of charitable trust" and"unjust enrichment" — Musk has asked for them to"disgorge" up to $150 billion to the nonprofit entity.
He is also seeking the unwinding of the for-profit and wants Altman and Brockman removed from their leadership roles. That could radically reshape OpenAI and potentially undercut its AI development efforts. Closing arguments are on Thursday, and a decision from an advisory jury and the judge overseeing the case, Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, are possible next week. Rachael Myrow, Senior Editor of KQED's Silicon Valley News Desk, contributed to this story from Oakland, Calif.
Las Vegas Sphere Highest Grossing Arena Curved Dome High-Resolution LED Screen Integrated Resorts Performing Arts Venue Space Immersive Entertainment Class Band Performances Sound And Visuals Are Better Relationship To The Stage Arena Design Immersive Theater Experience
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