In the News
When Rep. George Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce, ran for office last year, he said he’d work to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks as a way to curb potential insider trading.
A growing coalition of HIV prevention organizations, health experts and Democrats in Congress are sounding the alarm over sweeping Trump administration cuts to HIV/AIDS prevention and surveillance programs nationally, warning they will reverse years of progress combating the disease and cause spikes in new cases — especially in California and among the LGBTQ+ community.
Representative Laura Friedman awarded local advocate David Meyerhof a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition to celebrate his “unwavering commitment to Holocaust education and remembrance,” as well as his contributions to America as a speaker, educator and poet. Meyerhof is known for advocating for the voices of Holocaust survivors and for the past 10 years has worked as Holocaust Speaker Coordinator for the Los Angeles, Glendale and Burbank unified school districts. He took over this role from Sylvia Sutton who started the Holocaust Speakers Program 30 years ago.
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is urging colleagues to take steps to address antisemitism in the health care field in the 2026 appropriations process for the Department of Health and Human Services and related agencies.
The first 2026 FIFA World Cup match in the U.S. — to take place in Los Angeles County — may be more than 12 months out, but some members of Congress are concerned that time is running out to approve visas for all of the millions of athletes and tourists planning to travel to the United States.
Congressional Republicans slipped a little-noticed measure into their massive “big, beautiful bill” that would make it exorbitantly expensive to sue the Trump administration, potentially invalidating dozens of injunctions halting White House actions and sucking even more power out of the nation’s courts.
On Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Laura Friedman wrote a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson signed by 20 other congressional Democrats expressing “deep concern” about the provision.
Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) is determined to bring her constituents – which includes residents of Hollywood, West Hollywood and Hancock Park – into the conversation. Four months into her first term, the 30th Congressional District representative sat down for an interview, where she highlighted the robust community response she has received at town halls – including one that had 600 people in attendance.
Following a post on May 4 in which President Donald Trump suggested that a 100% tariff be applied to films produced “in foreign lands,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom countered with a federal film tax credit program proposal, which would be modeled after the same program the state is currently looking to expand.
President Donald Trump directed his attention this week at Hollywood, threatening in a social media post to impose tariffs on movies produced outside of the United States.
Trump posted on Truth Social the American movie industry was dying a "very fast death" because of incentives other countries offer filmmakers to produce films and movies outside of the U.S.
President Trump’s initial proposal to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-produced films was met with bafflement and horror in Hollywood. But for lawmakers who represent film industry workers, it looked like an opportunity.
“I would like to refocus the conversation around a national film tax credit,” said Rep. Laura Friedman, a Democrat from Burbank. “We know this works.”