Welcome to L.A. TACO’s daily news briefs, where we bring our loyal members, readers, and supporters the latest headlines about Los Angeles politics and culture. Stay informed and look closely.
—It's time for Dodger baseball! The Big Blue Wrecking Crew takes on the Rockies at 1:10pm this afternoon in Denver. [MLB]
—Donations are being raised for Paul Galgano, a Purple Heart-awarded Vietnam veteran in the South Bay who recently fell on a local pier and broke his knee, with hopes of bringing him home from the VA hospital to a home he can safely live in. [Go Fund Me]
—Russian influencer-model-types are publicly cutting up their Chanel bags to protest the fashion brand's ban on selling to Russia or those who would bring bags to Russia. [Insider]
—There's a new new COVID-19 variant to be concerned with, named XE and it's more transmissible than BA.2. [LAT]
—Santa Monica's beloved 46-year-old Ursula's Costume Shop is seeking donations to keep its doors open. [Ursula's Costumes]
—7-year-old Texan Mateo Lopez has been named the "Youngest Professional Mariachi in the World" by Guinness Book of World Records. Lopez has been singing with mariachi bands since he was 4. [UPI]
—First they were pissed off about Sesame Street. Then came a furor over Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head. Now conservative groups are having a fit about Disney, staging a boycott at its Burbank studios this past Wednesday. [LA Mag]
—However, Santa Ana police can't seem to get enough of blasting Disney's songs, maybe as a tactic to keep people from recording police interactions due to copyright issues. [NBC]
—L.A. County has banned official trips to Texas and Florida over the states' homophobic new laws. [ABC]
—Two suspects in a robbery at Northridge Fashion Center were arrested yesterday, while two more got away. [NBC]
—The Angels are being sued by the mother of a 6-year-old boy who suffered brain damage when an errant ball flew into the stands during a pre-game warmup in 2019. [ESPN]
—One of the men accused of stealing Lady Gaga's dog in Hollywood, the one accused of shooting the dog's handler, was mistakenly released from jail. [NBC]