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.
—Floyd Mayweather, Ronaldinho, and Mike Tyson are among the athletes featured in a recent propaganda video praising and promoting the combat training club of pro-Russian, anti-LGBT Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov. [Karim Zidan/Twitter]
—El Salvador has declared a state of emergency over gang-fueled homicides, following a reportedly random killing spree that resulted in 62 homicides on Saturday, the country's highest one-day death toll in 30 years. [CNN/NY Times]
—After being slapped by Will Smith... live on stage... during The Academy Awards... Chris Rock declined to file a complaint with the LAPD. [LAT]
—Tributes continue to pour in for Taylor Hawkins, the talented Laguna Beach-raised drummer of Foo Fighters, following his death in Bogota, Colombia, before a scheduled festival concert last Friday. [MSN]
—Of all the Mexican restaurants in all of L.A., Vogue walks into Casablanca in Venice. [Vogue]
—LeBron James fucked up his ankle at a game on Sunday, throwing into question whether he'll miss any upcoming games. [ESPN]
—Southern California grocery workers have voted for a strike if supermarket owner don't meet their demands over wages. [NBC]
—The L.A. Sheriff's Department covered up a video of a March 2021 incident in which an officer knelt on a handcuffed suspect's head for three minutes. [LAT]
—Legislation that bans your ability to film police in action is on the upswing nationally, despite such footage shining the light on grievous abuses from authorities in the past. [Vice]
—A Consumer Reports study discovered concerning amounts of the dangerous chemicals known as PFAs in fast food packaging from restaurants including Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Sweetgreen, Nathan's Famous, Cava, Arby's, and Stop & Shop. [Consumer Reports]
