Le Journal

VSCO filters, Kylie lip kits and the summer of Pokemon Go. The year 2016 is making a comeback in 2026 as people flood Instagram with throwback posts reminiscing about what they viewed as an iconic year for popular culture and the internet. In the past two weeks, many people online — from celebrities to regular Instagram users — dug through their camera rolls and Snapchat memories to unearth hyper-filtered photos of themselves a decade ago. Many of the photos share common themes now emblematic of the era: a matte lip and winged eyeliner, bold eyebrows and glamorous eye shadow. Acai bowls and boxed water. Chokers, aviator glasses and boho outfits made trendy by Coachella. “When I’m seeing people’s 2016 posts, even if they were in different states or slightly different ages, there’s all these similarities, like that dog filter or those chokers or The Chainsmokers,” said Katrina Yip, one of many people online who posted 2016 throwback photos. “It makes it so funny to realize that we were all part of this big movement that we didn’t really even know at the time was, like, just following the trend of that time.” The trend has become the latest example of people online romanticizing a different time as a form of escapism. Last year, Gen Zers, typically defined as those ages 14-29, posted videos expressing love for the charm and “cringe” of millennials. There has also been a recent surge in millennial-focused pop culture, which has been celebrated online. To many millennials and older Gen Z, 2016 was a year when community flourished on social media. People dumped their entire camera rolls into messy Facebook photo albums, sent each other silly Snapchat selfies and eagerly posted what they ate for brunch. “If you’re older, like maybe you were 50 in 2016 and you weren’t on Instagram or a heavy internet user, you might be like, ‘Why does everyone care about this random year?’” said Steffy Degreff, who shared her own throwback photos last week. Degreff, 38, said that for those who’ve been on social media for more than a decade, there’s nostalgia for the way social media used to function — with chronological feeds that focused only on the users people followed. There used to be an end to scrolling (specifically, when you ran out of updates from your friends). Platforms back then felt “a little bit less malicious” in their design, she said. “I do think that 2016 was the beginning of the end of a golden era of when people felt really good about the internet and social media and politics,” she added. “And then, obviously, the pandemic happened.” Many online who voiced their nostalgia described the overall energy of 2016 as “colorful” and “carefree.” Social media Jan 18 Social media addiction's surprising challenger? Anti-doomscrolling influencers Celebrity News Dec 28, 2025 Influencers reveal how much money they make Social media Dec 3, 2025 Is brain rot real? Researchers warn of emerging risks tied to short-form video People often went out in crop tops and jeans with a flannel tied around their waist. They’d snap pictures of an outfit laid out carefully on their bed or of a giant acai bowl. Then, they’d pore over VSCO (a popular photo editing app) filters with their friends, debating which preset to choose. “Now, we’ve gone very neutral-toned, like quiet luxury aesthetic, very minimal,” said Paige Lorentzen, who shared throwback photos featuring some of the trendiest brands of the time, such as Boxed Water Is Better and Triangl Swimwear. “Whereas back then, it was the brighter the saturation on your photos, the better. Everything felt like summer.” The new year marked exactly 10 years since 2016; therefore, many online began posting the phrase “2026 is the new 2016,” according to the database Know Your Meme. But “as the trend carried on, some social media users began posting videos denouncing the idea of making 2026 the new 2016, citing problems with living in the past and pointing out bad things that happened in 2016,” Know Your Meme…

A stolen truck flipped over to the side Monday during a pursuit with deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The chase began in the Commerce area at around 3:45 p.m., the sheriff’s department said. When the stolen truck reached Vernon, it crashed in the area of District Boulevard and Corona Avenue and ended up on its side. The driver was taken into custody. No one else was in the car. No other vehicles were involved during the pursuit.

Police Monday looked for a hit-and-run driver who struck and severely injured a man on a skateboard in Panorama City. The collision happened last Thursday at around 5:15 p.m. on Nordhoff Street near Lurline Avenue. Video released by the Los Angeles Police Department showed the skateboarder was traveling westbound on Nordhoff Street on the far right side of the road when when a four-door, gray Ford Focus swerved and struck the skateboarder. The impact of the crash pushed the victim off his skateboard, causing him to fall onto the street near the curb, police said. The driver of the gray car continued on Nordhoff Street then made a U-turn to travel the opposite direction on Nordhoff, the LAPD described. Source: LAPD “The driver failed to stop, identify themselves or render aid as required by law,” the police department said in a statement. The victim, a man in his 30s, was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The LAPD asked the public to notify officials if they spot a gray Ford Focus with a light gray repaint on the front right fender, white tape around the edges of both rear headlamps as well as possible rear tinted windows.

Trial was set to start Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles for former Dodger Yasiel Puig, who faces federal charges for allegedly lying to investigators about his suspected involvement in illegal sports betting. Puig, 35, is charged with obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. Puig no longer plays professionally in the United States. The right fielder spent six seasons with the Dodgers and last played in the MLB in 2019 while splitting time between Cincinnati and Cleveland. He later signed with teams that play in South Korea and the Mexican League. The case stems from a 2017 probe of an illegal gambling business run by ex-minor league pitcher Wayne Nix, 49, of Newport Coast. An investigation of Nix’s actions to launder illicit proceeds and hide income from the Internal Revenue Service led to Puig, prosecutors said. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Puig began placing bets on games in May 2019 through an intermediary of Nix’s. By the following month, Puig owed the Nix gambling business $282,900 for sports gambling losses, court papers allegedly show. Between July and September of 2019, Puig placed 899 bets on tennis, football and basketball games through a Costa Rica-based website associated with Nix, federal prosecutors allege. Puig’s defense counsel disputes the government’s summary of their Cuban-born client’s alleged betting activity. MLB Nov 14, 2022 Ex-MLB Star Yasiel Puig to Plead Guilty to Lying in Illegal Gambling Case Oct 30, 2020 Woman Sues Former Dodger Outfielder for Alleged Sexual Assault In January 2022, federal investigators interviewed Puig in the presence of his lawyer via video conferencing. During the 90-minute interview, despite being warned that lying to federal agents is a crime, Puig denied allknowledge of the Nix gambling business and persons participating in it, authorities said. “During a final break, the government privately advised defendant’s then-counsel that defendant’s statements were contrary to evidence the government had already obtained during the Nix Gambling Business investigation,” prosecutors wrote in the trial memorandum. “Counsel conferred with his client outside the presence of the government, but defendant did not change his prior statements.” In March 2022, according to court records, Puig allegedly sent a recorded message to a friend via WhatsApp. “I no said nothing, I not talking,” the Cuban player said in English, of his conversation with federal prosecutors two months prior. “I said that I only know (Puig’s alleged bookie, a former player) from baseball.” Prosecutors contend Puig lied to the government as part of his naturalization process in 2019, denying on an application that he had ever gambled illegally or received income from illegal gambling and during an in-person interview when he told the interviewer that he had never gambled illegally. Puig was charged with one federal count each of making false statements and obstruction of justice and in August 2022 reached a plea deal with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles in which he promised to pleadguilty to a single count of lying to federal authorities and agreed to pay a fine of at least $55,000. He reneged on the deal weeks later. A Los Angeles federal judge determined the plea deal was not binding because he had not yet formally entered his guilty plea in court. “I want to clear my name,” Puig said in a statement at the time. “I never should have agreed to plead guilty to a crime I did not commit.” Before he withdrew from the plea deal, Puig was eligible for probation along with the fine. In January 2023, prosecutors charged Puig with obstruction of justice in addition to two charges of making false statements to federal officials. The case was held up during an appeal regarding the admissibility of the facts of the withdrawn plea agreement. The case is now going forward before U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee. Each count of making a false statement carries up to…

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was marked Monday with numerous parades, musical and cultural events and volunteer opportunities throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties on the federal holiday that honors the legacy of the slain civil-rights leader. Monday’s biggest Southland event for the occasion took place in South Los Angeles, where the annual MLK Day parade is under new leadership — Bakewell Media, publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper. Bakewell took over the event — formerly called the Kingdom Day Parade — and rebranded it as the “Los Angeles Official Martin Luther King Day Parade” after the previous organizers, Adrian Dove and the LA chapter of theCongress of Racial Equality California, decided to retire from producing the event. The parade, which annually draws thousands of spectators, began at 10 a.m. Monday at Western Avenue and MLK Jr. Boulevard, ending at Leimert Park. It featured floats, marching bands, faith-based and community organizations, local and national leaders and more. Cedric The Entertainer will serve as grand marshal. Following the parade, L.A. City Council members Marqueece Harris- Dawson, Curren Price and Heather Hutt were set to host the MLK Freedom Festival in the historic Leimert Park Village. The festival featured music performances from the likes of the Grammy award-winning Avila Brothers, along with a community resource fair, local vendors, food trucks and more. Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Culver City, and state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, were among those scheduled to attend the event. The Freedom Festival will also feature the South Los Angeles Community Coalition’s “The Barbershop,” which aims to replicate the safe spaces that barbershops and nail salons have represented in the Black community for generations. Organizers say the setup was used as a forum to discuss MLK’s call for justice, dignity and collective action. Topics will include community safety, housing, economic justice and the power of people-led solutions. The coalition will also launch a community poll to identify key issues felt by South LA residents. Also Monday, the annual MLK Day Volunteer Festival took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, beginning at noon and run by the nonprofit LA Works. It’s billed as “the largest activation of service event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. at a moment when the city’s need for collective action has never been greater.” The event focused on wildfire recovery and uplifting displaced families, and standing with immigrant communities, organizers said. It included volunteer projects, educational activities, a nonprofit fair and BIPOC small-business zone, a live DJ, and more. According to the festival’s website, tickets were sold out, with “thousands of Angelenos (stepping) … forward to join the movement on MLK Day to transform compassion into action.” “We are at capacity for this year’s event and cannot accommodate walk-ups, but there are still powerful ways to honor Dr. King’s legacy through action,” organizers said. Meanwhile, the volunteer organization Big Sunday was scheduled to conduct its 14th annual MLK Day Clothing Drive & Community Breakfast from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at South Park Elementary School, located at 8510 Towne Ave. Big Sunday aims to collect non-perishable food and clothes for a new, year-round food pantry. In addition to the food and clothes drive, the nonprofit organized gardening and other school beautification projects, arts and crafts activities and a special MLK Day mosaic project. Other Monday MLK events include: In Exposition Park, the California African American Museum, at 600 State Drive, will host a King Day program from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. that will include a community service book donation drive supporting the Little Free Library at the Crenshaw Family YMCA; a faux stained glass workshop; a King study group; and concluding with a performance by the Inner City Youth Orchestra of LA In Santa Clarita, a Unity Walk” will take…