Skid Row’s first talent show puts local voices in the spotlight, in photos

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Skid Row held its first talent show, giving local homeless and formerly homeless residents a chance to share their talents and personal stories through music, rap and Scripture readings.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

A person walks past the entrance to Lifeway Church, decorated with balloons for Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Evangelist Geraldine Hughes, right, a judge at Skid Row’s inaugural talent show, prays with a homeless person outside Lifeway Church in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Rev. Gary Carr sweeps the floor at Lifeway Church after Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Bok Seo, a volunteer from a local Korean church, holds prizes for contestants during Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Deoujahne Darc, center right, is congratulated by Bok Seo, a volunteer from a local Korean church, after winning first prize at Skid Row’s inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Winners, judges and volunteers celebrate after the winners are announced at the end of Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Judges compare notes while deciding the winners of the Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Cara Agrusa performs during Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Trianice, a contestant who provided only her first name, reads a poem during Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A contestant who goes by the nickname Lil Bit performs during Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

DeAndre Owens reacts as he watches a contestant perform during Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Judges Teressa Percell, from left, Rev. Gary Carr and evangelist Geraldine Hughes share a laugh while talking to a contestant during Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Ladelle Handy performs during Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A contestant who goes by the nickname Lil Bit dances while watching another contestant perform during Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Host and volunteer Soohyung Lee, right, holds a microphone for contestant Roxanne Tomiyasu during Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A contestant who goes by the nickname Queen Mussolini performs at Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A woman in the audience fixes her hair before the start of Skid Row's inaugural talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Deoujahne Darc performs during Skid Row's first annual talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

President Donald Trump's interest in a U.S. acquisition of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, first became publicly known in 2019. Here's a timeline of events that led to a crisis between Washington and its European allies.

Aug., 2019: During his first term, Trump expresses interest in buying Greenland for the U.S., but says it's “not No. 1 on the burner.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismisses it as “an absurd discussion.” Trump then says he canceled a trip to Denmark because Frederiksen made a “nasty” statement in rejecting his idea.

Dec. 22, 2024: Weeks before his second term begins, President-elect Trump renews his interest, declaring that “the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.” Greenland's prime minister, Múte Bourup Egede, says that "we are not for sale and will never be for sale.”

Jan. 7, 2025: Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., visits Greenland. The president-elect says he won't rule out using military force to take control of Greenland.

March 11, 2025: Greenlanders elect a new parliament in a vote that produces a win for the Demokraatit party of Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Shortly afterward, all five parties in the legislature reject Trump's talk of the U.S. taking control.

March 27, 2025: Four of the five parties in Greenland's parliament agree to form a coalition government with Nielsen as prime minister.

March 28, 2025: Vice President JD Vance visits the U.S. Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland and accuses Denmark of underinvesting in the island's security.

March 29, 2025: Denmark's foreign minister scolds the U.S. for the tone of its criticism. Trump says he never takes “military force off the table.”

Aug. 27, 2025: Denmark's Foreign Ministry summons the top U.S. diplomat in Copenhagen after a Danish broadcaster reports that at least three people with connections to Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland.

Dec. 21, 2025: Trump announces that he is appointing Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to serve as the U.S. ‌special envoy to Greenland. Landry says it's an honor to serve in the position “to make Greenland a part of the U.S.”

Dec. 22, 2025: The leaders of Denmark and Greenland insist that the U.S. won’t take over Greenland. The Danish foreign minister says he's summoning the U.S. ambassador.

Jan. 4, 2026: Talk of a U.S. takeover of Greenland flares up again after the U.S. ousts Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela.

Jan. 5, 2026: Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen says an American military takeover of Greenland would amount to the end of NATO.

Jan. 6, 2026: Major European leaders join Frederiksen in a statement defending the sovereignty of Greenland. The White House says that “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option” for Trump.

Jan. 8, 2026: Trump says in an interview that he has to possess the entirety of Greenland instead of just exercising a long-standing treaty that gives the U.S. wide latitude to use Greenland for military posts.

Jan. 13, 2026: Greenlandic Prime Minister Nielsen says Greenland chooses Denmark “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now."

Jan. 14, 2026: The Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers meet in Washington with Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They agree to set up a working group, but Denmark and the White House then offer sharply diverging public views of its purpose. Denmark announces plans to boost the country's military presence in the Arctic and several European allies say they're sending small numbers of troops to Greenland for reconnaissance on Arctic security. Danish media later report that Copenhagen prepared for a real conflict, deploying with explosives and blood supplies.

Jan. 16, 2026: Trump says he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland.

Jan. 17, 2026: Trump says he will charge a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from eight European nations because of their opposition to U.S. control of Greenland.

Jan. 19, 2026: An exchange of texts with the Norwegian prime minister shows Trump linking his stance on Greenland to not winning the Nobel Peace Prize and saying that he no longer feels “an obligation to think purely of Peace.”

Jan. 21, 2026: Hours after saying he wants Greenland “including right, title and ownership," Trump scraps the threatened tariffs against European countries. He says he agreed with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on a “framework of a future deal” on Arctic security.

Jan. 28, 2026: Technical talks between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland over an Arctic security deal start.

Feb. 21, 2026: Trump says he will deploy a hospital ship to Greenland, alleging that many people there are sick and not receiving care. His post comes after Denmark’s military said its forces evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine off Greenland for urgent medical treatment. Greenlandic Prime Minister Nielsen says “no thank you” to the hospital ship.

July 7, 2026: Trump renews tensions ahead of a NATO summit, saying that Greenland “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark.” Frederiksen reiterates that Greenland is "not for sale" and says that Denmark is “ready to defend every inch of NATO including our own territory” in the event of an attack.

Sept. 18, 2026: Trump announces that he has a deal to bolster the U.S. military presence in Greenland. Danish officials are cautiously optimistic, with Frederiksen emphasizing that the planned agreement recognizes Denmark's sovereignty and the Greenlandic people's right to self-determination.

Sept. 22, 2026: Trump, Frederiksen and Nielsen sign the agreement on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. All three express satisfaction with the deal, but Trump does not respond to questions about whether his quest to acquire the territory is off the table.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, center, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, right, and US President Donald Trump at the signing ceremony of a security deal between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland at United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, right, as Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, center, watches at a security agreement signing ceremony during the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)