Newsletter: Today: Ecuador and Japan Dig Out. When ‘Independent’ Isn’t.

I’m Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

Ecuador and Japan Dig Out

There was a whole lot of shaking along the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire” this weekend. A magnitude 7.8 quake hit Ecuador just before 7 p.m. Saturday, killing more than 250 people, destroying buildings and wreaking havoc on roads. It came just hours after a magnitude 7.0 temblor shook Japan, killing scores. Thousands are being told to evacuate the areas in case of further quakes. Expect the death tolls to rise.

Bracing for the Big One

On this day 110 years ago, an earthquake and fire devastated San Francisco. “Heart Is Torn From Great City,” The Times declared on the next day’s front page. Now, the race is on to prevent similar disasters from striking. In San Francisco, engineers are concerned that a massive quake could compromise a large sea wall along the Embarcadero, home to some of the city’s most visited real estate. And in Los Angeles, a Times data analysis shows that neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and the Westside will feel the biggest effect from a new law requiring the retrofitting of wood-frame apartment buildings. Check our searchable database to see whether your apartment building needs a retrofit.

In New York, You Gotta Win Yuge

Donald Trump is expected to win the New York primary on Tuesday, but how big will the victory be? It matters a lot, given the way delegates are awarded. Get more than 50% of the statewide vote, and all of the 14 at-large delegates are yours. If not, they’ll be divvied up. Here’s why it’s a preview of sorts for the California contest.

When ‘Independent’ Isn’t

Suppose you want to register as an independent voter in California, beholden to no party affiliation. If so, don’t check the box for the American Independent Party -- as the name says, it’s a party, and one that has some very conservative beliefs. A Times investigation has found that most of its members registered with it in error. Are you one of them? Check it out here and, if so, share your story.

Coachella’s Surprise Lineup

Rihanna. Lorde and Sam Smith. Angus Young of AC/DC. Snoop Dogg. Kanye West. Kesha. None of them were listed on the bill for the Coachella music festival in Indio but they all performed. But did it help the music making? Catch up on all the weekend’s doings with our live blog.

A Bohemian’s Rhapsody

When Clayton Lewis saw a small cove on Point Reyes Peninsula, he knew he had discovered his home. Repairing and adding to a series of run-down shacks once inhabited by the Coast Miwok people, he captured the boho spirit of the 1960s and ‘70s. But when he died, the National Park Service had to decide what to do with his handiwork. As Thomas Curwen writes, it wasn’t a simple tale.

Moral Dilemma? No App for That

Should Thorfinn Sassquatch -- the username of a top L.A. cyclist -- see his records stripped from a popular app that tracks unofficial cycling records? He was convicted of selling performance-enhancing drugs, and now there’s an outcry among users of the Strava app. The company says it’s in no position to judge. Read on to see why it’s not alone for taking a hands-off policy.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

-- California’s minimum wage increase hits L.A.’s apparel industry: “The exodus has begun.”

-- L.A.’s effort to equip officers with body cameras has stalled over the price tag.

-- The wife of a jailed Vietnamese human rights activist comes to the U.S. with a plea.

-- How the NFL makes its schedule: a team of people and 255 computers.

-- Escape rooms are becoming a breakout form of entertainment.

-- Coachella’s promoters look to book Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters and Neil Young for a mega-concert in the desert.

-- Much like her husband, Kobe, Vanessa Bryant has been a contradictory, at times polarizing public figure.

CALIFORNIA

-- Scientists confirm what you probably already knew: El Niño and its badly needed rainstorms are pretty much kaput.

-- John Chiang is calm, cool and collected. So why is he “leaning toward” running for governor?

-- A new program grapples with an old problem: how to teach English to students who are born in the United States but fail to fully master some of the language’s complexities.

-- Though cancer may slow Najee Ali down, the L.A. activist keeps up the fight through social media.

-- Video: What’s it like to work on top of the tallest building west of Chicago?

NATION-WORLD

-- The Supreme Court will take up immigration policy today in the last big test of the Obama era.

-- Israel will never give up the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

-- Brazil’s lower house has cleared the way for President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment.

-- For the first time in Indonesia, a non-Muslim was caned under Islamic law after she chose lashes over jail time. Her crime: selling alcohol.

-- The final frontier: cheap space travel.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- What’s behind the absence of Asian roles in Hollywood films?

-- Theater review: Sandra Oh is in top form in “Office Hour,” which tackles identity in a gun-violence-racked world.

-- Will it play in Pretoria? The fine art of marketing U.S. films overseas.

-- Never mind, phone addicts: AMC won’t let you text in theaters after all.

-- The new “Jungle Book” film lands the second-highest April opening ever at the box office.

-- Video: What was Miranda Otto’s favorite scene in “Homeland”?

BUSINESS

-- Will Yahoo find a buyer? Bids are due today.

-- Sport Chalet will close all of its stores and stop online sales.

SPORTS

-- Simon Pagenaud crossed a line, just slightly, but got his first Long Beach Grand Prix victory.

-- The Rams will begin their off-season workouts today in Oxnard.

OPINION

-- Immigrants are waiting years for asylum, behind bars.

-- Donald Trump is bad news for the GOP, but he’s great news for President Obama.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- When parents refuse medical care for children in the name of Christ. (The Guardian)

-- How effective are comedians’ eviscerations of politicians and policies at changing anything? Not very. (The Atlantic)

-- China bans children from appearing in reality TV shows. (South China Morning Post)

ONLY IN L.A.

Ansel Adams escaped the 1906 San Francisco quake uninjured, but he wasn’t so lucky during an aftershock. The result was a broken nose that stayed crooked throughout his life. A caption on the back of a Times photo in 1979 explained: “Doctors recommended it be repaired when he matured. He says it was never fixed because he never matured. He says, however, that it slants to his left, and he’s been behind the left for most of his life.”

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.