In the News
(DC Bureau) – With Congress questioning the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger in a hearing this week and the president’s push for tariffs on foreign-made films, Washington Correspondent Maddie Biertempfel sat down with former film producer-turned California Congresswoman Laura Friedman to talk about the latest issues in the entertainment industry.
Local officials responded to the Minneapolis killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents during a Jan. 28 press conference in Pan Pacific Park, led by Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who appeared alongside Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) and Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena). At the event, the trio called for impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and reduced funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
FAIRFAX DISTRICT, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- As outrage mounts over the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal agents, Southern Californian lawmakers Wednesday intensified their calls for sweeping changes within the Department of Homeland Security.
For years the challenges kept coming for Hollywood’s rank and file. First there was the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which interrupted production. Then the historic double strikes in 2023, which did the same. Not to mention an overall contraction in the entertainment business and, to cap it off, fires ripping across swaths of Los Angeles in 2025, destroying the homes of some in the business who were already facing a crushing downturn in work.
The members of the Congressional Jewish Caucus — every Jewish House Democrat — wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Wednesday urging her to rescind new conditions — presumably related to immigration enforcement and diversity programs — instituted earlier this year on recipients of Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding.
LOS ANGELES — After 27 years, it is finally time to fill the empty lifeguard stands. In 2026, beleaguered California entertainment industry workers will see the return of what was once a major local employer: the TV show “Baywatch.”
On the first anniversary of the Eaton and Palisades Fires, Congressmembers Judy Chu (CA-28) and Laura Friedman (CA-30) spent the day in Washington, DC, representing their district constituents amid the ongoing struggle to deliver lifesaving relief and critical resources from the government.
On the morning of Jan. 7, 2025, Sarah Doering was gardening on the deck of her home that overlooked Topanga Canyon when she noticed a thick plume of smoke coming from the Pacific Palisades. Since 1978, Doering had experienced several fire evacuations in the Sunset Mesa neighborhood – an unincorporated community of L.A. County just west of the Getty Villa. She said this fire, however, immediately appeared different, as the smoke billowed rapidly for several minutes without any sign of firefighters.
January 8, 2026 - LOS ANGELES, CA — On Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) and the Chairs of the Republican and Democratic Congressional Delegations — Representatives Ken Calvert (R-Calif.-41) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.-18) — led the entire bipartisan California Congressional delegation in urging President Trump to provide overdue federal disaster relief funding and resources to help Los Angeles County communities rebuild and recover.
Starting a new job is hard, no matter where you work. But when your workplace is the House of Representatives, the adjustment period can be a little rocky — especially lately.
For the freshman class of the 119th Congress, it’s been a year like no other.