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.
—DMT-packed psychedelic toad venom sounds pretty awesome. For everyone but the Sonoran desert toads it is derived from, since their populations are now threatened with collapse over the drug's popularity. [NYT]
—Police are offering a reward for information on a Tesla that crashed in Echo Park attempting a high-speed stunt. [KTLA]
—A look into one family's story, as they leave behind their rancho in Michoacàn to escape cartel demands and threats, part of a reportedly spreading phenomenon. [Border Report]
—Russian migrants are being told to vacate a federal and international zone south of the San Ysidro Port of Entry at the Tijuana border, while Ukrainians are getting better access to the U.S. for humanitarian reasons. [BR]
—A protest march was held in Santa Monica in support of Tigray against accused genocide by the Ethiopian government. [CBS]
—Healing Justice Santa Barbara issued nine demands to the city's school district to better protect Black students and address recent incidents of anti-Black racism and assault at two local junior high schools. [Independent]
—An emerging subculture in Thailand is interpreting what they see as Chicano culture to create what they call "Thaino," involving various tattoos, lowriders, and jumping each other into otherwise non-violent gangs. [AFP]
—Police appeared after Ted Cruz was supposedly being uncool to an airline worker in Montana. [Occupy Democrats]
—The original Hot Dog on a Stick stand was "bulldozed to nothing" in Santa Monica sometime in the last couple of weeks, pissing off preservationists and locals who value our history. [Bobby Green Design/Instagram]
—Just when you thought you had enough to worry about... soil is dying. [Conscious Planet]
—L.A.'s venerated Underground Museum has unexpectedly closed until further notice. [NYT]
—An L.A. County Sheriff's helicopter crashed in Azusa on Sunday, causing five deputies and one UCLA doctor to be hospitalized with various injuries and all in stable condition. [LAT]
—Safe rooms, some priced up to $1 million, are in high demand for L.A.'s rich and paranoid. [THR]
