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New laws trigger a fresh legal fight over Nazi-looted art in Los Angeles and Auschwitz museums
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jewish heirs of Holocaust victims and their representatives have filed two lawsuits in California staking their claims to Nazi-looted paintings that still hang on the walls of prominent museums in Los Angeles and Auschwitz.
This pair of lawsuits are the first to be filed after the recent passage of laws by California and Congress, which strengthen U.S.-based claims to artwork that were forcibly taken from Jewish families during World War II.
One lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and its board chair Daniel Gryczman against Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena for the return of "Adam and Eve." These are two life-size oil-on-panel masterpieces created by Lucas Carnach the Elder in 1530.
The other lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles the same day by the daughters of the late Dinah Gottliebova Babbitt, a Holocaust survivor and California-based animator who was held in Auschwitz. It demanded the return of watercolors of fellow prisoners that the artist was forced to paint for Josef Mengele, a Nazi physician who had earned the nickname the "Angel of Death."
Spokespersons for both museums say the museums legally hold titles to the works, and intend to continue displaying them to the public. The lawsuits don't specify the monetary value of the paintings.
The issue of Nazi-looted art is an emotional, legally and ethically charged topic that pits Jewish families that have suffered inter-generational trauma against museums that say they are trying to preserve a painful, yet important, chapter of history. Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi regime orchestrated the largest art theft in world history, seizing over 600,000 works of art across Europe from Jewish families, collectors and museums. Decades later, many of these masterpieces reside in prominent museums around the world, making the push for their recovery more complex than a simple property dispute.
Rabbi Noah Farkas is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, the organization to which Marei von Saher, sole heir of Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, has signed over her rights. The paintings were seized from Goudstikker's collection by Hermann Goring, Adolf Hitler's second-in-command and changed a number of hands before being sold in the 1960s to the Pasadena Museum of Modern Art, which was renamed Norton Simon Museum in honor of its benefactor.
Farkas said the federation plans to use most of the net proceeds from the recovered art to provide much-needed help to the about 2,500 Holocaust survivors living in the Los Angeles area.
Trump and Mamdani plan to meet in New York during the president's upcoming UN visit
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will meet with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani when Trump travels to the city for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly.
The meeting is scheduled for Monday and at Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence, according to Anna Bahr, Mamdani's communications director.
Bahr said the two will discuss issues affecting the city and New Yorkers. The White House confirmed the meeting will take place but did not offer more details.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who upset former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary before winning the general election in November, has been a favorite and frequent political foil for Republicans.
But Trump has often been warm to Mamdani and seemed charmed by the young mayor. Their first meeting after Mamdani's election was quite cordial, with Trump saying at the White House that the then-mayor-elect would "surprise some conservative people." The Republican president had called Mamdani a "100% Communist Lunatic" during the 2025 campaign.
During a February meeting, Mamdani gave Trump a mock New York Daily News front page that said "Trump to City: Let's Build." That was riff on the famous front-page headline from 1975, " FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD," referring to President Gerald Ford's promise to veto financial assistance to the city.
Mamdani's aides said at the time that it was meant to show Trump the reaction and support that new federal investments in housing could have in the city.
ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Austin, Texas, officials say
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man on Sunday afternoon in the Texas' capital of Austin, local officials said.
The man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on Austin's north side, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference with the city's mayor and other officials present.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, didn't immediately respond to requests for details.
Austin police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, Davis told reporters.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said he wants the city's police department to be involved in the investigation so it can provide "clear, third-party eyes" in the process. Watson said he does not think it would be appropriate for ICE to conduct the investigation on its own.
Davis said there were not many facts she could provide so soon after the shooting, but added the department's special investigation unit was at the scene.
A dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes, local media reported.
A large law enforcement presence was at the scene, along with a crowd of onlookers.
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, called for transparency as the shooting is investigated.
"The horror has come to our city: ICE has shot a person in Austin this morning," Casar wrote on X. "As the facts emerge, I am demanding a full, independent investigation, immediate release of the body camera footage, and accountability for any ICE officer who broke the law."
Converse apologizes and pulls sneaker ad that critics said included racist imagery
The sneaker company Converse has removed a social media ad that sparked outrage among critics who viewed it as evoking the Ku Klux Klan and lynching.
The Instagram ad photo showed K-pop singer Karina wearing a skirt and holding a pair of Chuck 70 X sneakers. Critics lashed out online, saying that a white triangular image created by lighting on the skirt resembled a KKK hood and that the way she held the sneakers made them look like the dangling feet of a lynching victim.
Converse, owned by Nike, issued a statement apologizing and saying it removed the ad.
"We're sorry," said the statement, first released on Friday. "We understand why this image is deeply upsetting and recognize that we got this wrong. We removed it from our channels and are working to remove it everywhere it appeared. This should not have happened and we will do better."
Converse, based in Boston, declined on Sunday to answer questions seeking additional information, including how the company screens ads before they are posted and how the ad was approved.
Karina and her management company, SM Entertainment Group, did not immediately respond to messages through their Instagram accounts.
Retailers and top fashion brands have issued a string of apologies over the years for products criticized as being racially insensitive.
Last month, retailer Target pulled a children's Halloween costume from its shelves after widespread social media backlash, apologizing for selling a garment that critics said evoked racist minstrel caricatures.
The Converse photo sparked swift criticism, including calls for staff involved in the ad to be fired and for a boycott of the company. In a slew of comments on social media, posters questioned how the ad could have cleared the company's advertising vetting process. Other commenters defended Converse, saying they didn't believe it was intentional.
Box Office: 'Resident Evil' tops box office with franchise best debut of $60 million
Zach Cregger's "Resident Evil" gave the North American box office a shot in the arm in its first weekend in theaters. The Sony Pictures release earned $60 million in ticket sales from 3,684 locations in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday.
That's a best for the video game inspired franchise, of which there have been seven prior movies dating back to 2002, and for the filmmaker behind "Weapons" and "Barbarian." It's also more than most of the previous films made in their entire domestic runs. The only exception is "Resident Evil: Afterlife," which was released in 2010 and netted out with $60.1 million, not accounting for inflation.
Cregger's "Resident Evil" stars Austin Abrams (who also played a pivotal role in "Weapons") as a medical courier whose last job of the night finds him battling infected creatures in Raccoon City. Reviews were overwhelmingly positive; it currently boasts a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The audience was primarily male (66%) and under 35 (75%), according to PostTrak exit polls, and gave it a B+ CinemaScore. Cregger's previous films have defied a lot of box office logic when it comes to horror movies, whose earnings tend to be front-loaded and drop sharply after the first weekend. "Barbarian" grossed over $46 million on a budget under $5 million. "Weapons" made $270 million on a $38 million budget.
"Zach Cregger is a household name in the world of horror," said Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Rentrak. "There are certain directors who become the star of the movie."
"Resident Evil" cost a reported $75 million to produce, which does not include marketing and promotion expenses. Internationally, it earned $48.3 million, bringing its global launch to $108.3 million.
"Zach Cregger plus big franchise equals big bucks," Dergarabedian said. "And he made it feel fresh and new."
According to Rentrak, horror movies this year, including hits like "Obsession" and "Backrooms," have generated over $1.1 billion at the domestic box office.