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The Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for a roughly 40,000-square-foot expansion that will include indoor and outdoor science learning areas and space for special exhibits.
The centerpiece of the buildout will include an interactive display of the Inspiration space shuttle mockup, where visitors can go inside the cargo bay.Built in 1972, the 35-foot-tall model made of wood, plastic and aluminum functioned as a prototype and fitting tool for all of the orbiters that launched into space.The new building that will house the space shuttle mockup should be open to the public in about two years. The centerpiece of the buildout will include an interactive display of the Inspiration space shuttle mockup, where visitors can go inside the cargo bay. Built in 1972, the 35-foot-tall model made of wood, plastic and aluminum functioned as a prototype and fitting tool for all of the orbiters that launched into space. “We’re super excited to be able to put it on display for the public, really for the first time in forever,” Ben Dickow, president and executive director of the Columbia Memorial Space Center, told LAist. The expansion will also allow for educational areas, where students can learn about the pioneering engineering and design work that went into building the model at Rockwell International in Downey., after sitting in storage for more than a decade, the full-scale model was moved a few blocks to a temporary home.The Space Center said renovation work on the mock up will take months and include rehabs of its 60-foot cargo bay and flight deck. Dickow said Downey is where all of the Apollo capsules that went to the moon and all of the space shuttles were designed and built. “This is part of the L.A. story as much as entertainment or anything like that,” Dickow said, adding that it’s a legacy he feels like Angelenos sometimes forget. “The space craft that took humanity to the moon, the space craft that brought humanity into lower earth orbit and built the international space station, these are human firsts... and they all happened right here.”The Space Center is looking to raise $50 million that would go toward building plans, special exhibits and more. Dickow said the new building that will house the space shuttle mockup should be open to the public in about two years. By early next year, he said the plan is to have the shuttle model available for bi-monthly public visits as it undergoes renovation.Residents embrace in front of a fire-ravaged property after the Palisades Fire swept through in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.Under a proposal advanced Monday by a key committee of the Los Angeles city council, Pacific Palisades homeowners would escape the city’s “mansion tax” if they sell high-end properties following the January fires.Measure ULA is a voter-approved tax on real estate selling for $5.3 million or more. The city uses the revenue for rent relief, eviction defense and affordable housing construction efforts. Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades, said she has heard from “hundreds” of homeowners who say the tax is affecting their post-fire recovery plans.“For some, recovery is going to mean leaving the Palisades,” Park said during a meeting of the Ad-Hoc Committee for L.A. Recovery. “In those instances — where a sale is by no means voluntary — I don't think we should impede that objective.”The 3-0 vote comes after Mayor Karen Bass sent a letter last month asking the City Council to pass an ordinance giving the city’s director of finance the power to exempt Palisades homeowners from Measure ULA within three years of the fire.Pacific Palisades homeowners looking to sell high-end properties after the January fires could escape the city’s “mansion tax” under a proposal advanced Monday by a key committee of the Los Angeles City Council.on real estate selling for $5.3 million or more. The city uses the revenue for rent relief, eviction defense and affordable housing construction efforts. Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Palisades, said she has heard from hundreds of homeowners who say the tax is affecting their “For some, recovery is going to mean leaving the Palisades,” Park said during Monday’s meeting of the Ad-Hoc Committee for L.A. Recovery. “In those instances — where a sale is by no means voluntary — I don't think we should impede that objective.”Measure ULA levies a 4% tax on properties selling for more than $5.3 million, and a 5.5% tax on properties selling for more than $10.6 million.asking the City Council to pass an ordinance giving the city’s director of finance the power to exempt Palisades homeowners from Measure ULA within three years of the fire. In her letter, Bass wrote: “After adoption of the ordinance, I will issue an executive directive instructing the Director of Finance to promulgate a temporary exemption that provides much needed relief for those Palisades residents who owned and occupied residential property in the Palisades at the time of the fire, avoids unintended loopholes, and furthers the purpose of ULA.” Bass’ office said the letter was sent following a meeting she had with Rick Caruso, the billionaire real estate developer, former mayoral candidate and founder of Steadfast L.A., an organization focused on fire recovery.Any final tax exemption would still need further action from the City Council and Mayor’s Office to take effect. The proposal cleared Monday’s committee in a 3-0 vote. But it needs further consideration by the full City Council before any ordinance is passed. Bass would then need to issue an executive directive with full details of the post-fire tax exemption.But the exemption would have only gone through if efforts to repeal the tax either failed to qualify for the ballot or were dropped by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, an anti-mansion tax group. The bill also would have sought to address concerns about depressed housing development in the city by lowering the tax on sales of recently constructed apartments.NBC late night host Seth Meyers has consistently made President Donald Trump the target of his jokes. He seems to have had enough with Meyers, as he had with late night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel.on Truth Social on Nov. 15."He was viewed last night in an uncontrollable rage, likely due to the fact that his"show" is a Ratings DISASTER. Aside from everything else, Meyers has no talent, and NBC should fire him, IMMEDIATELY!"by Brendan Carr, chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission, the independent agency that regulates radio, TV, wire, satellite and cable across the country. His repost drew quick criticism.NBC late night host Seth Meyers has consistently made President Donald Trump the target of his jokes. The latest bits include Meyers teasing about a recent decline in Republican support of the president and his recent comments to Fox News host Laura Ingraham that America doesn't have enough skilled workers for certain jobs. Trump seems to have had enough with Meyers, as he had with late night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel.on Truth Social on Nov. 15."He was viewed last night in an uncontrollable rage, likely due to the fact that his"show" is a Ratings DISASTER. Aside from everything else, Meyers has no talent, and NBC should fire him, IMMEDIATELY!"by Brendan Carr, chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission, the independent agency that regulates radio, TV, wire, satellite and cable across the country.,"The limitations on the FCC's power to restrict or ban speech begin with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which decrees that the federal government 'shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.'"In an email to NPR, Lisa Macpherson, policy director at the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, wrote that Carr's intervention is"a distortion of the FCC's authorities in an effort to force the media to toe the line for President Trump." Former congressman and free speech advocate Justin Amash wrote on X,"The government shouldn't be pressuring companies with respect to late night hosts, comedians, or anyone else for monologues, commentary, or jokes—whether their words are insightful, ignorant, funny, boring, politically neutral, or politically biased."major corporate media mergers like the one it recently approved between Paramount Global and Skydance Media. Not long after Trump called for the firing of Colbert, CBS, which is owned by Paramount Global, announcedis a property of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast, one of the corporations expected to bid on Warner Bros. Discovery, aDemonstrators gather at a July news conference in front of Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, California, where Milagro Solis-Portillo was being treated after she was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.of a hospital, such as a lobby, and can accompany already-detained patients as they receive care, illustrating the scope of federal authority. Detained patients, however, have rights and can try to advocate for themselves or seek legal recourse., a supervising attorney and clinical teaching fellow at Georgetown Law, said law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, can guard and even restrain a person in their custody who is receiving health care, but they must follow constitutional andregardless of the person’s immigration status. Under those laws, patients can ask to speak with medical providers in private and to seek and speak confidentially with legal counsel, she said.In July, federal immigration agents took Milagro Solis-Portillo to Glendale Memorial Hospital just outside Los Angeles after she suffered aFor two weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractors sat guard in the hospital lobby 24 hours a day, working in shifts to monitor her movements, her attorney Ming Tanigawa-Lau said. ICE later transferred the Salvadoran woman to Anaheim Global Medical Center, against her doctor’s orders and without explanation, her attorney said. There, Tanigawa-Lau said, ICE agents were allowed to stay in Solis-Portillo’s hospital room round-the-clock, listening to what should have been private conversations with providers. Solis-Portillo told her attorney that agents pressured her to say she was well enough to leave the hospital, telling her she wouldn’t be able to speak to her family or her attorney until she complied.of a hospital, such as a lobby, and can accompany already-detained patients as they receive care, illustrating the scope of federal authority. Detained patients, however, have rights and can try to advocate for themselves or seek legal recourse., a supervising attorney and clinical teaching fellow at Georgetown Law, said law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, can guard and even restrain a person in their custody who is receiving health care, but they must follow constitutional andregardless of the person’s immigration status. Under those laws, patients can ask to speak with medical providers in private and to seek and speak confidentially with legal counsel, she said. “ICE should be stationed outside of the room or outside of earshot during any communication between the patient and their doctor or medical provider,” Genovese said, adding that the same applies to a patient’s communication with lawyers. “That’s what they’re supposed to do.”and be able to receive visits from family and friends, “within security and operational constraints.” However, these guidelines are not enforceable, Genovese said., they must tell them why they’ve been detained and generally can’t hold them for more than 48 hours without making a custody determination. A federal judge recently granted aIn the past, perceived violations by agents could be reported to ICE leadership at local field offices, to the agency’s headquarters, or to an oversight body, Genovese said. But earlier this year, the Department of Homeland SecurityThe assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, said that agents arrested Marin for being in the country illegally and that he admitted his lack of legal status to ICE agents. She said agents took him to the hospital after he injured his leg while trying to evade federal officers during a raid. She said officers did not prevent him from seeing his family or from using the phone.McLaughlin said the temporary restraining order was issued by an “activist” judge. She did not address questions about staffing cuts at the ombudsman offices. DHS also said Solis-Portillo was in the country illegally. The department said she had been removed from the United States twice and arrested for the crimes of false identification, theft, and burglary. “ICE takes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously,” McLaughlin said. “It is a long-standing practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.”, Dignity Health, which operates Glendale Memorial Hospital, said it “cannot legally restrict law enforcement or security personnel from being present in public areas which include the hospital lobby/waiting area.”in September that prohibits medical establishments from allowing federal agents without a valid search warrant or court order into private areas, including places where patients receive treatment or discuss health matters. But many of the most high-profile news reports of immigration agents at health care facilities have involved detained patients brought in for care. Erika Frank, vice president of legal counsel for the California Hospital Association, said hospitals have always had law enforcement, including federal agents, bring in people they’ve detained who need medical attention. Hospitals will defer to law enforcement on whether a patient needs to be monitored at all times, according to association spokesperson Jan Emerson-Shea. If law enforcement officers overhear medical information about a patient while they’re in the hospital, it doesn’t constitute a patient-privacy violation, she added. “This is no different, legally, from a patient or visitor overhearing information about another patient in a nearby bed or emergency department bay,” Emerson-Shea said in a statement. She didn’t address whether patients can demand privacy with providers and attorneys, and she said hospitals don’t tell family and friends about the detained patient’s location, for safety reasons. Sandy Reding, who is president of the California Nurses Association and visited the Glendale facility when Solis-Portillo was there, said nurses and patients were frightened to see masked immigration agents in the hospital’s lobby. She said she saw them sitting behind a registration desk where they could hear people discuss private health information. “Hospitals used to be a sanctuary place, and now they’re not,” she said. “And it seems like ICE has just been running rampant.” The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Nov. 18 on a proposal to provide more protections for detainees at county-operated health facilities. These include limiting the ability of immigration officials to hide patients’ identities, allowing patients to consent to the release of information to family members and legal counsel, and directing staff to insist immigration agents leave the room at times to protect patient privacy. The county would also defend employees who try to uphold its policies. Solis-Portillo’s lawyer, Tanigawa-Lau, said her client ultimately decided to self-deport to El Salvador rather than fight her case, because she felt she couldn’t get the medical care she needed in ICE custody. “Even though Milagro’s case is really terrible, I’m glad that there’s more awareness now about this issue,” Tanigawa-Lau said.is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more aboutPresident Donald Trump is now urging House Republicans to vote to release the Epstein files, an abrupt reversal of his previous stance.Trump has long resisted the release of additional files from the Justice Department's investigation into his former friend Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, despite promising on the campaign trail that he would do so if reelected. That unfulfilled promise has been the center of growing public controversy, conspiracy theories and pressure from Congress in the months since he took office.A House vote is expected on tomorrow , but it would be just the first step in a longer process.In a major about-face, President Donald Trump has called on House Republicans to vote to release the files of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after months of refusing to do so and mounting pressure from Republicans and Democrats alike.But public skepticism about his death — and allegations that his wealthy, powerful network helped facilitate and cover up his crimes — persist, dogging the Trump administration in particular. The names of a number of powerful figures have appeared in already-released documents related to Epstein's case, including Trump and former President Bill Clinton, both of whom socialized with Epstein. Appearing in Epstein's flight logs and other records, however, is not an indication of wrongdoing. Trump has long resisted the release of additional files from the Justice Department's investigation into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, despite promising on the campaign trail that he would do so if reelected. That unfulfilled promise has been the center of growing public controversy, conspiracy theories and pressure from Congress in the months since he took office. Prominent Republicans from House Speaker Mike Johnson to former Vice President Mike Pence have called for more transparency on the Epstein case, along with influential right-wing conspiracy promoters, including media figures such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Loomer. And Democrats on the House Oversight Committee continue to apply pressure by subpoenaing and releasing thousands of pages of records from the Justice Department, many of which spotlight Epstein's onetime friendship with Trump. The White House has consistently downplayed that relationship — which Trump says ended before Epstein was indicted for soliciting prostitution in 2006 — and dismissed the controversy as a hoax pushed by Democrats.that"we have nothing to hide" and that it was time to move on from what he says is a"Democrat hoax … to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party." A House vote is expected on Tuesday, but it would be just the first step in a longer process. The House and Senate would both need to vote to release the unclassified files in order for the matter to reach his desk for a signature.A demonstrator holds a sign quoting U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about the Epstein files during a protest against the Trump administration in Los Angeles in July."The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients? Will that really happen?" Roberts asks Bondi. "It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump. I'm reviewing that," the attorney general replies. Bondi later says she was referring to the Epstein files, not a client list. But her remark has echoed through discussions of the Epstein story so far this year. Political commentator Rogan O'Handley, aka DC Draino , TikToker Chaya Raichik, commentator Liz Wheeler and conservative activist Scott Presler carry binders bearing the seal of the U.S. Justice Department reading "The Epstein Files: Phase 1" as they walk out of the West Wing of the White House on Feb. 27.bearing a Department of Justice seal and labels reading,"Epstein Files: Phase 1" and"Declassified." But much of the information turns out to have been released before, and Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, chairwoman of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets,saying it has found"no incriminating 'client list'" for Epstein, contradicting Bondi's February statement. The agency says it turned up more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence. It also states that"Epstein harmed over one thousand victims." But the DOJ says those victims' sensitive information is"intertwined" in the materials and it concludes"no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted."addresses several hot topics on social media. In addition to rebutting the notion of a client list, it says there's no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent figures or that his death was anything other than a case of suicide.in response to his supporters' criticisms of Bondi. The president accuses critics of trying to hurt his administration,"all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein." People should let Bondi do her job, Trump says,"and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about."about her handling of the Epstein files. Trump voices his support, saying his attorney general has"really done a very good job." Trump also suggests people who are fixated on Epstein should move on:"He's dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don't understand what the interest or what the fascination is, I really don't. And the credible information's been given." "It's all been a big hoax. It's perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net. And so they try and do the Democrats' work," Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office.of Bondi releasing some Epstein documents if they meet a standard:"Whatever's credible, she can release. If a document is credible, if a document's there that is credible, she can release."is a risqué birthday note Trump wrote to celebrate Epstein's 50th birthday, stating,"the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE."to unseal grand jury testimony related to Epstein's 2019 indictment charging him with sex trafficking offenses, citing"extensive public interest" following the agency's July 6 memo. The DOJ later asks to unseal related exhibits, including a PowerPoint presentation and four pages of call logs. The agency files similar motions in New York regarding the criminal case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime partner who was sentenced to a 20-year prison term, as well as in Florida, where Epsteinabout his administration's grand jury request, saying he"asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval."that Bondi and other Justice Department officials told Trump in May that his name"is among many in the Epstein files." The newspaper says the officials feel the files contain"unverified hearsay" about hundreds of people, including Trump, who were in the same social orbit as Epstein.Donald Trump and his girlfriend at the time, Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 12, 2000.over Epstein hiring girls from his Mar-a-Lago resort, resulting in Epstein being kicked out. A prominent Epstein accuser, the late Virginia Giuffre,: The Bureau of Prisons says it has moved Maxwell from a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Fla., to a women's minimum-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas.for records related to Epstein and Maxwell. It seeks"all documents and communications relating or referring to" the pair and their respective court cases, setting a deadline of Aug. 19.to unseal grand jury materials from the Maxwell case, saying most of the records are already public. In a rebuke to the DOJ, the judge adds that an observer"might conclude that the Government's motion for their unsealing was aimed not at 'transparency' but at diversion — aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such."of Epstein documents to the panel on Aug. 22, three days after the committee's original deadline."It will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted," Comer says.Federal judge Richard M. Berman denies Bondi's request to unseal records related to the Epstein case in New York, citing longstanding precedents of keeping grand jury proceedings secret and stating that the government did not prove"special circumstances" that might justify unsealing the records.House Democrats release a copy of Epstein's 50th birthday book with notes from friends and associates, including the tawdry note — framed by a hand-drawn outline of a woman's body —, despite his denial in July. The White House again dismisses that claim, calling it"FAKE NEWS to perpetuate the Democrat Epstein Hoax!"hand-in-hand, above a satirical plaque honoring their friendship, appears on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson tells NPR that"it's not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep." U.S. Park Police abruptly removed the statue for what the Department of Interior later said was permit noncompliance. The protest group behind the bronze installation has since displayed it two more times,On the same day that the Supreme Court declines to hear Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal of her 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking, Trump leaves the door open to potentially granting her a pardon — which hetelling reporters That same day, the federal government reopens after a record 43-day shutdown. The House returns to session to swear in Democraticof New Mexico, seven weeks after she won a special election to succeed her late father. Grijalva had promised to support forcing a vote on the Epstein files' release, and became the decisive final signature that same day.from Epstein's estate that specifically mention Trump. In one from 2011, Epstein referred to Trump as"the dog that hasn't barked" and says he spent"hours at my house" with one of the alleged sex trafficking victims. A billboard shown in Times Square on Monday highlights Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 comment about Donald Trump that "of course he knew about the girls."The White House downplays the emails, with Leavitt saying they were"selectively leaked" and"prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong." Later that day, Republicans release another 20,000 documents, which include emails from Epstein expressing displeasure with Trump and his presidency.of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a longtime ally of the president who publicly broke with him over the Epstein issue. She was one of three Republican women to sign the petition to force a vote on the files' release. Another, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, had He stresses that the Justice Department has already turned over tens of thousands of pages of records and opened an investigation into Epstein's links to Democrats, and urges Republicans to get"back on point." "Nobody cared about Jeffrey Epstein when he was alive and, if the Democrats had anything, they would have released it before our Landslide Election Victory," he adds.
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