Newsletter: Today: Congress Pulls an All-Nighter
Oops, they did it again: Another shutdown, another vote at odd hours in D.C.
TOP STORIES
Congress Pulls an All-Nighter
The Senate was supposed to vote on a two-year budget deal at midday Thursday. Then Sen. Rand Paul started talking … and talking … in an ill-fated effort to compel Congress to stick with its 2011 spending caps, and midday turned into long after midnight. Paul’s filibuster forced a federal government shutdown for the second time in three weeks and pushed the Senate vote to the wee hours Friday, with the House following a bit later. But, in the end, the deal got done. The bill calls for $300 billion more in federal spending for defense and domestic programs in 2018 and 2019, but includes some lesser-known provisions too — including a special break for a small college in Kentucky, home state of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
More Politics
-- Another harsh spotlight is shining on John Kelly, President Trump’s chief of staff. This week, he labeled some young immigrants lazy and defended an aide accused of domestic abuse. He now says he didn’t know key details about the spousal abuse allegations.
-- The new target of right-wing rage: Veteran employees at the FBI and Justice Department.
-- Add former President George W. Bush to the list of those speaking out about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
How They Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Stock Market Bomb
The Dow Jones industrial average has dropped 1,000 points twice in four days, down 10% from its record high in late January. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the technology-focused Nasdaq composite are near correction levels too. The message from the White House, the Fed and various analysts: Keep calm and carry on. All point to the strong U.S. economy for their optimism. But that strength and government borrowing are said to be driving fears of higher interest rates. China’s stock market didn’t offer too many reassurances today, with its benchmark dropping 5.5%.
‘Where’s the Gun? Where’s the Gun?’
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies say 16-year-old Anthony Weber was carrying a handgun when they fatally shot him during a chase in the South L.A. neighborhood of Westmont. The firearm, they say, went missing when a large crowd gathered in the aftermath. But residents aren’t buying that, and an emergency meeting on the shooting led to an angry confrontation and demands for an independent investigation. “Where’s the gun? Where’s the gun?” asked Weber’s father. “I know where the bullets are — they’re right in my baby’s back.”
Lots of Potential to House the Homeless
The idea of converting public parking lots to housing has been around for decades in L.A. but has gained little traction. Now, with money from a $1.2-billion bond to build housing for the homeless, the city is looking to develop multistory complexes on about 120 lots. As the latest story in our “Without a Home” series shows, converting those parking lots will require both architectural and political ingenuity.
Faster, Higher, Colder
The Games have begun. For the next two weeks, all eyes will be on Pyeongchang, South Korea, where bitter cold has already begun to complicate matters for skiers, bobsledders and anyone else competing or watching outdoors. But one of the spectacles being most hyped, for reasons beyond sports, will play out inside a rink: the combined Korean women’s hockey team. At the helm is head coach Sarah Murray, the Canadian American daughter of a former L.A. Kings coach, who admits: “This whole situation is out of our control.” Follow all our Olympics coverage here.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY
In October 1974, Rosendo Cruz of Alhambra bought a green 264 Dino Ferrari. Two months later, he reported the car stolen. That was that — until in 1978, some kids were digging in the mud in a backyard on West 119th Street and found something unusual. Read more about the case of the buried Ferrari found 40 years ago.
MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- Film critic Justin Chang says the latest “Fifty Shades of Grey” movie, “Fifty Shades Freed,” is, uh, well, “sublimely ridiculous.”
-- Costume designer Mark Bridges discusses the elaborate fashion designs in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-nominated “Phantom Thread.”
CALIFORNIA
-- Authorities served search warrants at Maywood City Hall and properties belonging to the city’s mayor and others in what one official described as an investigation into accusations of corruption.
-- Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who’s been at the forefront of the movement against sexual harassment in the state Capitol, has become the subject of allegations of sexual misconduct.
-- Five Los Angeles City Council members have called for investigation and reform of a generous pension program for cops and firefighters after the publication of a Times investigation.
-- Architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne addresses a widely panned New York Times article about Los Angeles, and how L.A. and Houston have something in common.
YOUR WEEKEND
-- Nancy Silverton is opening a pizzeria in Highland Park where pizza is priced by the ounce.
-- Love meatballs? We’ve compiled 17 of our best recipes.
-- Caravan Book Store in downtown L.A. will close this month after nearly 64 years.
-- On a weekend escape to Cambria, you can interact with creatures great and small.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Clint Eastwood’s “The 15:17 to Paris” is based on a headline-grabbing true story, but film critic Kenneth Turan says it’s a lackluster Hollywood movie.
-- How actor Chadwick Boseman brought power and purpose to Marvel’s “Black Panther” film.
-- Should the border wall prototypes in Otay Mesa be turned into art?
NATION-WORLD
-- The fiancee of a Border Patrol agent who died in west Texas wants answers, but they’re slow in coming.
-- A rare U.S. strike in Syria against forces loyal to President Bashar Assad has killed scores of fighters and underlined the difficulty of keeping an American presence there to fight Islamic State.
-- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that he is likely to be indicted on allegations he demanded and received gifts from businessmen in exchange for personal favors.
-- “Selfish.” “Asexual.” “Crazy.” In India, a new book gives 3,000 women a forum to share the insults and indignities of being single there.
BUSINESS
-- After several years of growth, the number of jobs in the solar energy sector took a hit in 2017. Solar employment dropped 14% in California and 3.8% nationwide.
SPORTS
-- The Lakers pulled off a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers that could have big ramifications by clearing salary cap space to acquire LeBron James and Paul George.
-- Los Angeles will not bid to become a host city for the 2026 World Cup because of concerns about financial liability, an aide to City Council President Herb Wesson says.
OPINION
-- At the “Peace Olympics,” don’t expect any diplomatic breakthroughs.
-- Walter Shaub, who resigned as director of the Office of Government Ethics in July, says Trump’s Ethics Office has blessed an unethical legal defense fund for the president’s associates.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- The family of Hollywood producer Jill Messick, saying she died by suicide, issued a blistering statement on Harvey Weinstein and Rose McGowan. (The Hollywood Reporter)
-- The story of Henry Worsley and one man’s solitary journey across Antarctica. (The New Yorker)
-- The origins of the air horn in pop music: What a blast! (Atlas Obscura)
ONLY IN L.A.
How do you get the parents of young athletes to stop complaining? Show them the “Moneyball” tactics. Granada Hills High School basketball coach Don Loperena makes extensive use of analytics and pulls out the iPad for his players and their parents. The result: “I have had zero discussions with parents about playing time the last two years,” he said.
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