Politics
Abcarian: Inglewood knitting store that's all about emotional support
She had me at “emotional support chickens.”
My friend Susan Kaufman was telling me about a yarn store in Inglewood where a multiracial, multigenerational crowd gathers twice a week to commune and knit. The store’s owner has created do-it-yourself knitting kits for overstuffed chickens with fanciful names like Baraaawk Obama, Hennifer Lopez and Paulina Poultryskova.
Opinion Columnist
Robin Abcarian
When you hug one of the chickens, Susan assured me, you would forget, at least for a moment, that a convicted felon, racist and fraudster might retake the White House in November.
“It sounds weird, but they really work,” said Susan, a therapist who knows about emotional support.
When she first invited me to tag along with her to the Knitting Tree, President Biden had not yet announced he was dropping out of the presidential race. Vice President Kamala Harris had not yet exploded into the national spotlight. And former President Trump was campaigning as if he had already won.
I needed some poultry therapy.
By the time I walked into the Knitting Tree a few weeks later, however, the depressing political landscape had seismically shifted, and so had the mood inside the store, said the store’s owner, Annette Corsino.
1
2
3
1. Chris Parker of Los Angeles works her needles through yarn for a sweater at the Knitting Tree LA. 2. The store’s owner, Annette Corsino, works on a “BRAT” hat that makes a political statement. 3. Emotional support chickens line the shelves.
“Before this, the mood was pretty grim,” said Corsino, 62, whose lavender curls and plethora of tattoos telegraph the ascendance of a hipper knitting generation. “But people are feeling much better now. They’re smiling more. There’s hope.”
I hugged Baraaawk Obama to my chest. It felt good, really good.
Corsino nodded approvingly. “Our motto is: ‘Life is hard. We all need a chicken to make it better.’ ”
The Knitting Tree is located in a drab low-slung office park sandwiched between a car rental place and a golf apparel outlet on Manchester Boulevard. It looks super boring on the outside.
Entering the shop, though, is like walking into a Technicolor Oz. Brilliant spools of yarn line the walls, and therapy chickens perch on high shelves. Walter and Carmen, Corsino’s wire-haired dachshunds, wander about. Carmen barks at everyone; Walter climbs into laps and perches his long nose on the huge wood table that is the heart of the store. The table is where knitters and crocheters — young, middle-aged, elderly, Black, white, Asian and Latino — work and talk and laugh. And sometimes cry. Two of the knitters are nursing ailing husbands.
This place seemed like a multiracial version of a traditional Black barbershop.
“Actually, no,” said Jacqueline Camacho, 70, who worked for 46 years as an airline customer service agent at LAX. “It’s more of a family affair.” Camacho lives in Valencia and comes to Inglewood as often as she can.
“More like ‘Cheers,’ ” added Ana Petrova, 83, who fled Hungary after the 1956 revolution was crushed by the Soviet army and ended up in Venice, where she and her husband, Peter, operated a business on Lincoln Boulevard, selling and repairing British cars.
“At the barbershop,” said Camacho, “they just gossip and gossip, and we don’t do that here.”
“Everybody knows your name,” said Petrova. “And sometimes we do drink.” (During Wednesday evening potlucks, mostly, although sometimes on Sundays, too. I spied a bottle of Champagne on the nearby food table.)
Camacho was asking Petrova what to do about a stitch she dropped while knitting a sweater.
Creations at the Knitting Tree LA with a political theme.
(Robin Abcarian / Los Angeles Times)
“Where is it?” asked Petrova.
“Under the armpit,” Camacho replied.
“Live with it.”
Later, I heard Petrova give a knitter advice that could apply to almost any of life’s challenges: “The slower you go, the faster you’ll finish.”
Toward the front of the store, a class was working on a felted tote bag with the blue-and-white “Greek key” design familiar to anyone who has ever bought a cup of coffee in Manhattan.
“It’s fun to nerd out about Greek mythology,” said knitting teacher Theresa Havton, a mother of four adult sons, including triplets. I guessed that her singleton was the first born. “It would not have happened any other way,” said Havton, a former computer engineer, whose husband is a spinal cord surgeon who practices in New York.
“We have a brain trust here,” Corsino told me. “We have doctors, lawyers, nurses, scientists, lots of engineers. During the strike, we had a lot of film industry people. I never see anybody outside of here. This is my social life.”
At the big table, Anjeanette Bumatai, 54, was working on a blanket. She wore a blue baseball cap pulled low over her forehead and a “Babes Ride Out” T-shirt. Bumatai owns an insurance agency, rides a Harley and had just returned from a gathering of female bikers in Deadwood, S.D. During her two weeks on the road, she said, she rode through Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming.
“I was in Trump country,” she told me. “It’s amazing how much people adore him. It’s a cult of personality. I would talk to someone and say, ‘What has he done for you?’ They can’t name anything. As a person of color, I think the majority of Black people do not care for him.”
She sounded suspiciously like a childless cat lady, the infamous insult lobbed at Harris, stepmother of two, by Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
“I guess I am!” she said, laughing. “I guess my husband’s kids don’t matter.”
Corsino, who has sold more than 3,000 emotional support chicken kits — at $39.50 a pop — and 25,000 chicken patterns, told me she is working on a new pattern, based on a popular Harris campaign meme inspired by the British pop star Charli XCX.
Borrowing the shape of the celebrated pink pussy hat popularized during the anti-Trump Women’s March of January 2017, this one will be lime green. Black lettering will spell out the word “BRAT.”
Politics
Trump to kick off Great American State Fair as 250th anniversary celebrations take over National Mall
Washington DC to host Great American State Fair for America250
Ambassador Monica Crowley discusses the Great American State Fair, set to transform the National Mall in Washington D.C. from June 25 to July 10. Celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, the 16-day event will feature pavilions from all 50 states and six territories, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, traditional games, and rodeo competitions, aiming to unite the country.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Donald Trump will kick off the Great American State Fair Wednesday evening as part of celebrations surrounding the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“President Trump promised the greatest 250th birthday celebration in American history, and Freedom 250 is proud to help deliver it for the American people,” Freedom 250 CEO Keith Kranch told Fox News Digital.
“This celebration is about what makes America exceptional—our freedom, our faith, our optimism, and our people. We are honored to welcome President Trump as he helps kick off these historic festivities tomorrow and begin a nationwide celebration of our Nation’s 250th birthday,” Krach added.
The fair brings together all 50 states and six U.S. territories for a national celebration stretching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument featuring military flyovers, musical performances and civic programming. Trump announced he will deliver remarks after a handful of musical artists pulled out of their musical performances, turning the bash into a “Make America Great Again Rally.”
TRUMP FLOATS REPLACING 250TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT WITH MASSIVE MAGA RALLY AFTER ARTISTS PULL OUT
Organizers describe the Great American State Fair as a modern-day World’s Fair celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The event is scheduled to run from June 25 through July 10, 2026, celebrating patriotism to bring together the nation for a celebration of unity.
TRUMP’S DC BEAUTIFICATION PUSH WINS RARE DEM PRAISE AS PRESIDENT SNAPS LANDMARKS BACK TO LIFE
U.S. President Donald J. Trump watches the UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn at the White House on June 14, 2026 in Washington, DC (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Trump’s anticipated remarks follow his signature last week on a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, launching a 60-day negotiating period aimed at preventing Tehran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons capability.
The world’s fair-scale event will have pavilions touching on five national themes: Made in America, American Heartland, American Innovates, The American Canvas, and Faith & Family.
There will also be a 110-foot Ferris wheel and the refurbished Smithsonian carousel for families to enjoy.
Rending of 110-foot ferris wheel coming to National Mall for “Great American State Fair.” (Freedom250)
The U.S. has hosted over two dozen variations of the world’s fair since first hosted in Philadelphia in 1876, according to the State Department.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Freedom250, the nonpartisan group helping coordinate the broader America250 effort, said the fair will feature food, games, exhibits and themed attractions designed to showcase the country’s culture, history and innovation.
Politics
Why your food scraps travel more than 100 miles — and how an L.A. council member wants to stop it
Bob Blumenfield would like to see Angelenos’ old banana peels and moldy bread stay local.
On Tuesday morning, the City Council member told a small crowd of waste advocates in front of city hall that he was introducing a motion to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by strengthening local composting infrastructure and decreasing reliance on distant facilities.
Currently, when city residents separate their food waste and yard clippings, chances are it’s being trucked to faraway processing facilities in Bakersfield or Lancaster.
The motion would help the city meet targets set by California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, or Senate Bill 1383, which phases out sending green waste to the landfill, because it is a major source of the powerful climate pollutant methane.
It also would help meet Mayor Bass’ Climate Action Plan, which aims to use at least 50% of locally produced compost and mulch within Los Angeles by 2030. Currently, only 25% to 30% of the city’s material is applied to land locally.
The city produces approximately 350,000 tons of organic material a year, Blumenfield told the crowd, which he said equates to roughly 1.2 to 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
“That’s a big number, and when you do the math,” he said, that’s roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide released by the entire country of Belize, the entirety of Humboldt County or the equivalent of burning 1.6 billion pounds of coal per year.
As the announcement was underway, in the background a fire burned for a sixth day in a Boyle Heights warehouse, where 85 million pounds of frozen food was thawing and beginning to rot.
Signed into law in 2016, the state’s composting bill mandated a gradual increase in the amount of organic waste that must be diverted away from landfills. It required 50% of all green and food waste be diverted by 2020; by 2025, that number was supposed to hit 75%.
But it hasn’t. Although Los Angeles has pushed to get a residential curbside bin program in place — recall the “Great Green Bin Apocalypse of 2025” — it has struggled to get people to comply.
According to reports for the recycLA program, a commercial and multifamily waste collection franchise program, only about half of households and business are separating their compostable waste.
Alex Helou, assistant general manager of L.A. Sanitation & Environment, provided a much brighter picture of the city’s food waste situation. L.A. is the first major city to provide green bins to 750,000 residential customers, he said. The city has “exceeded expectations” in food recovery, he said, saving 80 million meals that would have been thrown out and redirecting them to people in need.
Helou said Blumenfield’s motion completes the loop by keeping food waste close to home, creating more local composting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transporting waste outside of the city. It doesn’t directly affect the city’s compliance with SB 1383, but that isn’t necessary, he said. “We’re meeting that and exceeding that at multiple fronts.”
Blumenfield’s initiative directs the Bureau of Sanitation to develop a plan for expanding local composting across the city. It would also increase the use of locally produced compost and mulch.
For instance, the motion would encourage using the compost on urban farms and at community gardens and city parks. It also would be used to replace artificial grass and turf.
It will support a “citywide transition away from artificial turf and towards nature-based solutions, such as California native plants and natural grass plant fields, and ensure everyone has access to safer, cooler, and sustainable parks, schools, and communities,” said Terry Saucier, a Tarzana resident and member of the Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance and the Tarzana Neighborhood Council.
The state’s composting law has proved challenging on several fronts.
The Antelope Valley has become a dumping site for many of the city’s haulers looking to cut transport and facility costs — causing concern among environmentalists and others who say the material is destroying fragile ecosystems.
Complying has been particularly difficult for Los Angeles and much of coastal Southern California, where there are few large composters and low demand for compost. Unlike areas to the north, there is little agricultural demand for compost and mulch.
Experts say dumping in the desert has always been a problem, but the law made it worse by making it more expensive and difficult to deal with.
In addition, composters are struggling with the amount of plastic and other debris that people and businesses put in the food waste bins.
According to a report by Closed Loop Partners, which partners with companies such as Pepsico and McDonald’s, nearly 4% of food waste is contaminated with other materials — most of it plastic. State law requires that finished compost contains no more than 0.5% by dry weight of physical contaminants.
Politics
Trump foe wins crucial Dem primary as 2028 presidential speculation swirls
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Democratic Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, whom pundits consider a potential 2028 presidential contender, is one step closer to winning re-election this year.
Moore on Tuesday captured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the solidly blue Mid-Atlantic state, the Associated Press reports.
Moore and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, easily dispatched a primary challenge from Eric Felber and his running mate, LaTrece Hawkins Lytes. Felber, a physician, unsuccessfully challenged Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin in the 2024 primary in the state’s 8th Congressional District.
DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks during an announcement at the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 16, 2026. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket in Maryland.
The Democratic ticket will face the winners of a nine-way Republican primary field.
Moore is running for re-election this year amid speculation that he also is eyeing a run for the White House in 2028, in the race to succeed term-limited President Donald Trump. Democrats are expected to field a large and competitive field in the race for their party’s presidential nomination.
The governor has consistently ruled out running for the White House in 2028, saying that his political focus is on his home state and his 2026 re-election.
But regardless, Moore remains a top Democratic Party surrogate in national politics. And Moore, a 47-year-old Army veteran, who is also a Rhodes Scholar and was CEO of the charitable organization the Robin Hood Foundation during the coronavirus pandemic, is viewed as a rising star in the party.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and President Donald Trump are pictured together in a split image. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Moore, the nation’s only Black governor, has had a combustible relationship with Trump, which has included very public feuds and verbal sparring, and clashes over policy.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Earlier this year, Trump initially excluded Moore from a National Governors Association dinner at the White House, charging that the governor was “not worthy” of attending.
-
Los Angeles, Ca6 minutes agoClue may identify SUV in Long Beach hit-and-run that left woman injured
-
Detroit, MI31 minutes agoIlitch Companies creates gaming platform, expands beyond Detroit
-
San Francisco, CA43 minutes agoFirst of its kind queer museum in San Francisco Chinatown amplifies Chinese LGBTQ artists
-
Dallas, TX45 minutes agoThese children were sold for sex. Then the system failed them again
-
Miami, FL51 minutes agoHard Rock Cafe lets Downtown Miami lease lapse after 30-plus years
-
Boston, MA52 minutes agoFederal judge in Boston bars Trump from implementing proof of citizenship requirement to vote – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO58 minutes agoDenver Broncos Foundation launches extension of ‘ALL IN. ALL COVERED.’ emphasizing youth football participation
-
Seattle, WA1 hour ago
Iran and Egypt to play in Seattle ‘Pride Match’ despite earlier complaints | The Jerusalem Post