Street Food Cinema returns for 14th season with ‘Wicked,’ a Dolly Parton-themed night and more

• May 6, 2025

Street Food Cinema, Los Angeles’ beloved outdoor movie, food, and music series, kicks off its 14th season this May with a new lineup of films, live entertainment, and food truck fare.

The popular series runs Saturdays from May 10 through October 11, with events spread across iconic locations including The Autry Museum in Griffith Park, the Los Angeles State Historic Park, and Burbank’s Equestrian Center.

Opening night on Saturday, May 10, features a screening of the Oscar-nominated musical and film “Wicked” at The Autry. Expect photo opportunities, themed cocktails, a live set from Lunar Riptide, and emcee Justine Marino setting the tone before the movie starts at 8 p.m. Guests can dig into food from fan-favorite trucks like Pickles and Peas, Belle Pasta, and Angelenos Wood Fired Pizza.

This year’s May lineup continues with the Oscar-winning “Anora” on May 17, a Dolly Parton-themed night in honor of the 45th anniversary of “9 to 5” on May 24, and a special Pride Month kickoff with “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” on May 31.

June’s schedule highlights include “The Goonies” on June 7, a 30th anniversary screening of “A Goofy Movie” in partnership with Disney’s D23 fan club on June 14, and “Sonic the Hedgehog” on June 28.

Before the official season opener, SFC kicked off the festivities with its spooky side at Boo-ze, Bites & Frights: Half-O-Ween, held May 2 and 3 at Heritage Square Museum. The 21+ “Halfway to Halloween” celebration featured outdoor horror screenings of “The Craft” and “Final Destination,” along with carnival games, themed bars, and plenty of treats.

General admission tickets start at $22, with season passes available for $99. Reserved seating, child pricing, and a $125 date night package are also available. For the full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit streetfoodcinema.com.

​ Orange County Register 

How to use Disneyland’s new automated turnstiles

• May 6, 2025

Disneyland has modernized its front gates and added more turnstiles to make one of the first lines you wait in at the Anaheim theme park as short and quick as possible — and we’ve got a detailed guide to help make the process move even faster.

The $4.8 million project to overhaul the Disneyland and Disney California Adventure entrance pavilions with 62 new automated entry gates has taken more than a year to complete in order to limit the impact of construction.

Here’s the three-step process to navigating the new automated entry gates as quickly as possible.

Step 1: Scan your ticket

As you walk up to the turnstile, you will be greeted by a video screen with an animated Mickey Mouse at Disneyland or Oswald the Lucky Rabbit at California Adventure.

Don’t be distracted by the screen — which isn’t used in any way to scan your tickets.

Most visitors will have their tickets on their mobile phone via the Disneyland app. Have the app open and your tickets ready as you approach the turnstile.

The ticket scanner is beneath the video screen and not immediately obvious. Look for the logo of Mickey’s gloved hand holding a cell phone with the words “Scan Here” on the black countertop of the turnstile.

Hold your phone under the scanner with the barcode facing up.

Scan everyone’s ticket one by one if you have several people in your party.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland honors fire heroes with a parade and free tickets

The process works the same for printed tickets.

You can also use your Magic Band as a ticket if you already have your annual pass or daily admission ticket linked to the high-tech wristband.

The Magic Band scanner is a white domed light on the front of the turnstile. Simply hold your wristband to the scanner until the system identifies your Magic Band.

Step 2: Take your photo

Once your ticket is scanned, it’s time to take your photo using the video screen.

Press the camera icon on the video screen to take your photo. Your picture is digitally attached to your ticket to prevent fraud.

Repeat this process until everyone in your party has been photographed.

ALSO SEE: Mickey and Minnie are still the stars of Disneyland’s newest kids show

No need to lift smaller kids up to the camera’s level. The camera automatically adjusts to each visitor’s height.

You will only need to take your photo once if you have a multi-day ticket or a Magic Key annual pass.

Step 3: Enter the park

The automated gates will swing open once your ticket is scanned and your photo is taken.

Your entire party must pass through the gates together. The gate won’t close and reopen for each member of your party.

Every gate is ADA compliant with enough room for motorized mobility scooters, wheelchairs and strollers.

Parkhopping

The process is simpler when you’re reentering the park or parkhopping from one park to another. At that point, you’re a returning visitor.

All you need to do is scan your ticket using the Disneyland app on your mobile phone, a printed ticket or your Magic Band. The gate will open automatically and you can enter the park.

ALSO SEE: Imagineers work to bring Walt back to Disneyland in new animatronic show

Magic Key annual passholders and visitors with multi-day tickets will have the same experience once their photo is taken. You only need to have your picture linked to your ticket one time.

A Disneyland employee will always be nearby if you need help scanning your ticket or have trouble taking your photo.

Five locations

The new automated entrance turnstiles have been installed at five locations throughout the Disneyland resort.

At the start of each day, you will need a ticket or annual pass and a reservation for the specific park you are trying to enter. Parkhopping starts at 11 a.m. daily.

The two main turnstiles are located off the entry esplanade — with Disneyland on one side and Disney California Adventure on the other.

The Downtown Disney ticket turnstiles let visitors take the Disneyland Monorail to Tomorrowland.

You will need a Disneyland ticket or a parkhopper ticket to enter at the Monorail station. You can’t use a DCA-only ticket at the Monorail station. A DCA parkhopper ticket can be used at the Monorail station after 11 a.m.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland to fix curved Eiffel Tower in Soarin’ Around the World

The Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel ticket turnstiles let visitors into Disney California Adventure near Grizzly River Run.

You will need a DCA ticket or a parkhopper ticket to enter at the Grand Californian entrance. You can’t use a Disneyland-only ticket at the Grand Californian entrance. A Disneyland parkhopper ticket can be used at the Grand after 11 a.m.

The DCA rear entrance near Goofy’s Sky School is accessible only by guests of the three Disney hotels. Much like the Grand, you’ll need a DCA ticket and reservation or a Disneyland parkhopper ticket after 11 a.m.

​ Orange County Register 

Columbia University lays off nearly 180 after Trump pulled $400M over his antisemitism concerns

• May 6, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University said Tuesday that it will be laying off nearly 180 staffers in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel $400 million in funding over the Manhattan college’s handling of student protests against the war in Gaza.

Those receiving non-renewal or termination notices Tuesday represent about 20% of the employees funded in some manner by the terminated federal grants, the university said in a statement Tuesday.

“We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources,” the university said. “Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard.”

Officials are working with the Trump administration in the hopes of getting the funding restored, they said, but the university will still pull back spending because of uncertainty and strain on its budget.

Officials said the university will be scaling back research, with some departments winding down activities and others maintaining some level of research while pursuing alternate funding.

In March, the Trump administration pulled the funding over what it described as the Ivy League school’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus during the Israel-Hamas war that began in October 2023.

Within weeks, Columbia capitulated to a series of demands laid out by the Republican administration as a starting point for restoring the funding.

Among the requirements was overhauling the university’s student disciplinary process, banning campus protesters from wearing masks, barring demonstrations from academic buildings, adopting a new definition of antisemitism and putting the Middle Eastern studies program under the supervision of a vice provost who would have a say over curriculum and hiring.

After Columbia announced the changes, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the university was “ on the right track,” but declined to say when or if Columbia’s funding would be restored. Spokespersons for the federal education department didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.

Columbia was at the forefront of U.S. campus protests over the war last spring. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up an encampment and seized a campus building in April, leading to dozens of arrests and inspiring a wave of similar protests nationally.

Trump, when he retook the White House in January, moved swiftly to cut federal money to colleges and universities he viewed as too tolerant of antisemitism.

​ Orange County Register 

Supreme Court allows Trump ban on transgender members of the military to take effect, for now

• May 6, 2025

By MARK SHERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed.

The court acted in the dispute over a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service.

The court’s three liberal justices said they would have kept the policy on hold.

Just after beginning his second term in January, Trump moved aggressively to roll back the rights of transgender people. Among the Republican president’s actions was an executive order that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life” and is harmful to military readiness.

​ Orange County Register 

An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip is met with alarm

• May 6, 2025

By WAFAA SHURAFA and MELANIE LIDMAN

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip and expand the military operation has alarmed many in the region. Palestinians are exhausted and hopeless, pummeled by 19 months of heavy bombing. Families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are terrified that the possibility of a ceasefire is slipping further away.

“What’s left for you to bomb?” asked Moaz Kahlout, a displaced man from Gaza City who said many resort to GPS to locate the rubble of homes wiped out in the war.

Israeli officials said Monday that Cabinet ministers approved the plan to seize Gaza and remain in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time — news that came hours after the military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers.

Details of the plan were not formally announced, and its exact timing and implementation were not clear. It may be another measure by Israel to try to pressure Hamas into making concessions in ceasefire negotiations.

The war began after Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, and European Union.

Israel says 59 captives remain in Gaza, about 35 of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s ensuing offensive has killed more than 52,000 people in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count.

“They destroyed us, displaced us and killed us,” said Enshirah Bahloul, a woman from the southern city of Khan Younis. “We want safety and peace in this world. We do not want to remain homeless, hungry, and thirsty.”

Some Israelis are also opposed to the plan. Hundreds of people protested outside the parliament Monday as the government opened for its summer session. One person was arrested.

Families of hostages held in Gaza are afraid of what an expanded military operation or seizure could mean for their relatives.

“I don’t see the expansion of the war as a solution — it led us absolutely nowhere before. It feels like déjà vu from the year ago,” said Adi Alexander, father of Israeli-American Edan Alexander, a soldier captured in the Oct. 7 attack.

The father is pinning some hopes on U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East, set for next week. Israeli leaders have said they don’t plan to expand the operation in Gaza until after Trump’s visit, leaving the door open for a possible deal. Trump isn’t expected to visit Israel, but he and other American officials have frequently spoken about Edan Alexander, the last American-Israeli held in Gaza who is still believed to be alive.

Moshe Lavi, the brother-in-law of Omri Miran, 48, the oldest hostage still believed to be alive, said the family was concerned about the plan.

“We hope it’s merely a signal to Hamas that Israel is serious in its goal to dismantle its governmental and military capabilities as a leverage for negotiations, but it’s unclear whether this is an end or a means,” he said.

Meanwhile, every day, dozens of Palestinians gather outside a charity kitchen that distributes hot meals to displaced families in southern Gaza. Children thrust pots or buckets forward, pushing and shoving in a desperate attempt to bring food to their families.

“What should we do?” asked Sara Younis, a woman from the southernmost city of Rafah, as she waited for a hot meal for her children. “There’s no food, no flour, nothing.”

Israel cut off Gaza from all imports in early March, leading to dire shortages of food, medicine and other supplies. Israel says the goal is to pressure Hamas to free the remaining hostages.

Aid organizations have warned that malnutrition and hunger are becoming increasingly prevalent in Gaza. The United Nations says the vast majority of the population relies on aid.

Aid groups have expressed concerns that gains to avert famine made during this year’s ceasefire have been diminishing.

Like most aid groups in Gaza, Tikeya has run out of most food and has cooked almost exclusively pasta for the past two weeks.

Nidal Abu Helal, a displaced man from Rafah who works at the charity, said that the group is increasingly concerned that people, especially children, will die of starvation.

“We’re not afraid of dying from missiles,” he said. “We’re afraid that our children will die of hunger in front of us.”

Lidman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo.

​ Orange County Register 

Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty will bypass Preakness

• May 6, 2025

Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty will not run in the Preakness Stakes, ending any chance at a Triple Crown for a seventh consecutive year.

“We received a call today from trainer Bill Mott that Sovereignty will not be competing in the Preakness,” 1/ST Racing executive VP Mike Rogers said Tuesday. “We extend our congratulations to the connections of Sovereignty and respect their decision.”

Mott told Preakness officials the plan will be to enter Sovereignty in the Belmont Stakes on June 7. Mott on Sunday morning foreshadowed skipping the Preakness in the name of long-term interests.

“We want to do what’s best for the horse,” Mott told reporters at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. “Of course, you always think about a Triple Crown, and that’s not something we’re not going to think about.”

This is the fourth time since Justify won all three races in 2018 that the Preakness will go on without a true shot at a Triple Crown. The short, two-week turnaround from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness and changes in modern racing have sparked debate around the sport about spacing out the races.

​ Orange County Register 

A tax on college endowments began in Trump’s first administration. It could soon rise

• May 6, 2025

By COLLIN BINKLEY, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A tax on the endowments of America’s wealthiest colleges began during President Donald Trump’s first administration, collecting 1.4% of their investment earnings. Under Republican proposals on Capitol Hill, that rate could increase by tenfold or more.

As Trump spars with prestigious colleges he accuses of “indoctrinating” students with leftist ideas, calls to raise the tax have gained momentum.

Republicans have questioned whether colleges with huge endowments — tens of billions of dollars, in some cases — should be entitled to tax breaks that are not offered to businesses. Proposals to increase the tax have come as the House looks to cut or offset $1.5 trillion in spending as part of the president’s sweeping tax bill.

Colleges say the proposed increases would take money that otherwise could go to financial aid and other support for students. The American Council on Education, which lobbies on behalf of college presidents, calls it a “tax on scholarships.”

What is the endowment tax?

In 2017, Congress passed the 1.4% tax on wealthy colleges’ investment earnings. It applies to colleges with at least 500 tuition-paying students and endowments worth at least $500,000 per full-time student.

Before that, colleges weren’t taxed on their endowment income.

The tax reflected a sentiment that some colleges were too concerned with generating investment income, with huge endowments that operate like hedge funds. Critics pointed to colleges like Harvard, Yale and Stanford, with tens of billions of dollars.

Harvard and dozens of other schools opposed the tax, calling it “an unprecedented and damaging tax on the charitable resources” of universities.

How does the tax work?

Those hit by the tax include big Ivy League schools along with smaller liberal arts colleges that have accrued large endowments.

Endowments are made up of donations that are invested to maintain the money over time. Colleges often draw about 5% of their investment earnings every year to put toward their budgets. Much of it goes toward student financial aid, along with other costs like research or endowed faculty positions.

The 1.4% applies to those investment earnings. In 2024, Harvard was taxed more than $40 million. For some smaller schools, the bill was closer to $1 million.

A relatively small number of schools are subject to the tax. In 2023, the tax generated $380 million from 56 colleges.

Would the new tax affect other nonprofits?

Not directly. The proposed tax increase applies only to certain colleges and universities and not other nonprofit organizations. But in the past, some colleges have argued that any endowment tax threatens the tax-exempt status of other charitable groups.

Some say a tax increase would chip away at the idea that colleges provide a public benefit that deserves to be protected from taxation — a principle that applies to other tax-exempt groups.

What’s being proposed?

House Republicans already were considering a hike in the tax on college endowments’ earnings from 1.4% to 14% as part of Trump’s tax bill. As the president raises the stakes in his fight with Harvard and other Ivy League schools, lawmakers are floating raising the rate as high as 21% in line with the corporate tax rate. It appears no decisions have been made.

A separate proposal being looked at would expand the number of schools subject to the tax. It would change the calculation used to determine if a school has $500,000 per student, counting only U.S. citizens and residents. If approved, roughly a dozen additional colleges would be subject to the tax.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

​ Orange County Register 

Ukraine drone attacks briefly shut down Moscow’s international airports

• May 6, 2025

By The Associated Press

All four international airports around Moscow temporarily suspended flights Tuesday as Russian forces intercepted more than 100 Ukrainian drones fired at almost a dozen Russian regions, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said.

Nine other regional Russian airports also temporarily stopped operating as drones struck areas along the border with Ukraine and deeper inside Russia, according to Russia’s civil aviation agency, Rosaviatsia, and the Defense Ministry. The Moscow region was later attacked for a second time, with the capital’s major airports of Vnukovo and Domodedovo forced to ground flights again, while the city’s air defenses intercepted three drones, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

The drone assaults threatened a planned unilateral 72-hour ceasefire in the more than three-year war announced by President Vladimir Putin to coincide with celebrations in Moscow marking Victory Day in World War II.

The day celebrating Moscow’s defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 is Russia’s biggest secular holiday. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and others will gather in the Russian capital on Thursday for the 80th anniversary and watch a parade featuring thousands of troops accompanied by tanks and missiles.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry urged foreign countries not to send military representatives to take part in the parade, as some have in the past. None is officially confirmed for this year’s event.

Ukraine will regard the participation of foreign military personnel as “an affront to the memory of the victory over Nazism, to the memory of millions of Ukrainian front-line soldiers who liberated our country and all of Europe from Nazism eight decades ago,” a statement on the ministry’s website said.

Security is expected to be tight. Russian officials have warned that internet access could be restricted in Moscow during the celebrations and have told residents not to set off fireworks.

Putin last week declared the brief unilateral truce “on humanitarian grounds” from May 8. Ukraine has demanded a longer ceasefire.

Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by insisting on far-reaching conditions. Ukraine has accepted that proposal, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the brief truce “doesn’t sound like much, but it’s … a lot if you knew where we started from.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that ceasefire orders had been issued to Russian troops, but soldiers would retaliate if fired upon.

Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia swapped hundreds of captured soldiers in one of the largest exchanges since Moscow’s full-scale invasion started in February 2022. The last exchange was on April 19.

Zelenskyy and Russia’s Defense Ministry said they each received 205 soldiers in the swap. Both sides said the United Arab Emirates had mediated the exchange, as on previous occasions.

The long-range strikes by both sides continued, however. Ukraine has used increasingly sophisticated, domestically produced drones to compensate for having a smaller army than Russia along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, and to take the war onto Russian soil with long-range strikes.

Russia has used Shahed drones as well as 3,000-pound (1,300-kilogram) glide bombs, artillery and cruise and ballistic missiles against Ukraine.

Two people were injured in Russia’s Kursk region, according to local Gov. Alexander Khinshtein, and some damage was reported in the Voronezh region.

The Russian reports couldn’t be independently verified.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 136 strike and decoy drones overnight.

Russian forces fired at least 20 Shahed drones at Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city near the border with Russia, injuring four people, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.

The drones started a fire at the biggest market in Kharkiv, Barabashovo, destroying and damaging around 100 market stalls, he said.

Seven civilians were hurt elsewhere in the Kharkiv region by Russian glide bombs and drones, Syniehubov said.

Three people were also killed when a Russian ballistic missile hit the Ukrainian city of Sumy Tuesday evening, acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said. One woman died at the scene, while two more people died due to injuries at a hospital, he said.

In Kramatorsk, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Russian Shahed drones killed one person and injured two others, Mayor Oleksandr Honcharenko wrote on Facebook. The drones targeted residential and industrial areas of the city, he said.

In the Odesa region, Russian drones struck residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, killing one person, regional head Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram.

​ Orange County Register