This is an L.A. Times Studios podcast. Hi, I'm Angelica Coronado at L.A. Times Studios. Here are some of today's

headlines from the Los Angeles Times. Financial aid scams are on the rise, and students and families are the ones paying the price.

Sharon Lurie reports scammers are using stolen identities and AI chatbots to enroll in online colleges,

grab financial aid, and then disappear.

In California alone, colleges flagged over a million fraudulent applications this year, with

about $11 million in unrecoverable funds.

The schemes are so sophisticated, professors have found entire classes filled with bots.

One victim, Brittany Nelson, discovered loans taken out in her name, even though she never

enrolled in school.

Now victims are trying to repair their

credit, while the federal student aid office struggles to keep up. The Education Department is

mandating ID verification for new applicants and promises tougher screening in the future. But with fewer

staff and growing fraud, many worry that protecting students and their data may be getting harder.

One of the biggest jewelry heist in U.S. history just led to seven federal indictments.

Daniel Miller reports the thieves stole up to $100 million in jewels, watches, and diamonds in under 30 minutes.

Authorities say the suspects first spotted the Brinks

truck at a trade show in San Mateo, then trailed it south through the night. By early

morning, the truck had reportedly been parked at a flying J-stop, where the thieves were said

to have cut the lock, unloaded the bags, and disappeared. The loop belonged to over a dozen small LA jewelers,

some of whom were driven out of business. Nearly three years later, indictments are in,

and victims may finally see justice. Film studios are taking movie marketing to the next level

with Roblox, TikTok, and virtual dragons. Queenie Wong reports

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