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Revisiting the Urban (L.A.) Dystopia of SE7EN, 30 Years Later

The classic neo-noir psychological horror thriller "SE7EN" wasn't filmed in New York or a nameless city—it was shot in a dystopian version of 1990s downtown L.A. Here's how they hid the sun and palm trees to create a masterpiece.

September 18, 2025

How Did Texas Get a Taco-Dispensing ATM Before L.A.?

We're just mad we didn't think of it first.

September 18, 2025

DAILY MEMO: Rapid Responders Foil ICE Raid Again at The Same Car Wash Targeted a Third Time This Week

On day 104 of raids, federal immigration agents carried out operations across Southern California, taking people from car washes, apartments, and public spaces in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Orange, Oxnard, Santa Barbara, West Covina, Jurupa Valley, Lake Forest, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, and San Jacinto. Meanwhile, ICE badly injured the Van Nuys Car Wash owner during a raid, an immigration judge ordered the deportation of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, another longtime resident with three Marine sons faces deportation after a violent arrest, and L.A. County paused food vendor enforcement due to safety concerns tied to ICE activity.

September 17, 2025

The Complicated Relationship Between Chicano Identity and Mexican Cultural Appropriation

Not all Chicanos appropriate Mexican Culture, but they're more at risk of slipping into it. Beyond the social media apology lies a deeper betrayal: how the journey of huaraches and mezcal from symbols of poverty to luxury items reveals our own community's internalized anti-Indigeneity.

September 17, 2025

DAILY MEMO: Agents Raid Mexican Consulate on Mexico’s Independence Day and More

Federal immigration agents were spotted across Southern California, where multiple people were detained, and rapid response patrols deterred some operations. In other news, Border Patrol expanded to Chicago, L.A. County approved $30 million in rent relief for victims of fire and ICE, Senate Democrats raised concerns about the Pentagon sending military lawyers as temporary immigration judges, and California lawmakers advanced SB 627, the “No Vigilantes Act,” to ban extreme masking by law enforcement.

September 16, 2025

DAILY MEMO: Car Wash Workers With Legal Status Have Their Papers Thrown Out by Agents Who Arrest First, Verify Later

Over the weekend, ICE raids spread from Wilmington and Long Beach to Santa Ana, Downey, and Panorama City, with incidents of agents pointing rifles, rejecting legal documents, and detaining workers at car washes and Home Depots. Meanwhile, immigrant communities reeled from the death of deported mother Estela Ramos Baten, the abduction of a Chicago day laborer suing police, and mounting controversy over Trump’s shifting immigration policies at home and abroad.

September 15, 2025

Caruso Defends Attending Event With Right Wing Figures, Falsely Claims Gabby Giffords Was There, Too

After claiming Gabby Giffords, the retired American politician turned gun-control advocate, also attended the event at Damian with Tucker Carlson, a staffer confirmed that she wasn't even in Los Angeles at the time.

September 15, 2025

Let There Be GWAR: The ‘Scumdogs of the Universe’ Invade Beyond The Streets for Massive Career Retrospective

40 years' worth of costumes and props, tour flyers, posters, comics, original illustrations, group photos, intergalactic phalluses and more at L.A.'s showcase of immersive exhibits.

September 14, 2025

Supreme Court Gives ICE License to Hunt Mexicans

For years, conservatives on the court have claimed to be “colorblind.” Yet when it comes to criminalizing our communities, suddenly race matters. This is the contradiction at the heart of the Roberts Court: no race in college admissions, but race is admissible in immigration stops.

September 13, 2025

Daily Memo: Federal Agents Death Toll Is Now 16 As Another Agency is Authorised to Use Deadly Force

On day 99, ICE raids took place in Los Angeles, South El Monte, Highland Park, and Wilmington, where longtime community volunteer Jose Antonio Campollo Caceres was arrested in front of his son without agents providing a warrant. Meanwhile, near Chicago, ICE officers fatally shot a man during a vehicle stop, sparking protests, while nationwide developments included USCIS creating armed “special agents,” a court blocking fast-tracked deportations, the Trump administration cutting grants with Latino-heavy colleges, and DHS threatening prosecutions for filming ICE agents despite First Amendment protections.

September 12, 2025