This is an LA Times Studios podcast.

Hi, I'm Angelica Coronado at LA Times Studios.

Here are some of today's headlines from the Los Angeles Times.

The new U.S. attorney for Los Angeles, Bill Asyle, just announced a criminal task force to investigate fraud and corruption involving homelessness funds.

Brittany Mejia and David Zanizer report, this force will look into the misuse of millions in federal dollars that were assigned to combat homelessness.

It follows a court-ordered audit that revealed some major flaws in local services.

He says if laws were broken, arrests will be made, and that taxpayers deserve answers.

Both federal and local programs will be under review, focusing on potential theft of private donations.

This move comes after LA County withdrew over $300 million

from the agency that oversees contracts from many homeless services.

Hollywood could be facing another setback in its already rocky relationship with China.

Meg James reports that after President Trump threatened new tariffs,

Chinese officials are floating a major response, banning U.S. movies.

That would be a big hit to American studios, many of which are already struggling from pandemic losses,

strikes, and the costs of the streaming boom. Hollywood's box office in China has been

shrinking for years, with local films dominating. While a few American blockbusters still succeed overseas,

growing political tensions are making those wins very rare.

Studios may need to rethink how and where they do business.

California lawmakers are pursuing legislation that could help ride share drivers unionize.

Suhanna Hussein reports that a new bill could finally let Uber and

lift drivers form unions while still being independent contractors. That means 600,000 drivers

could bargain for better pay and conditions without breaking antitrust laws. This is huge because

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