Newsletter: Today: When the ‘Dreamers’ Met Trump. The Feds Look at O.C.’s ‘Snitch’ Problem.

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, including our weekend recommendations and weekly look back into the archives.

TOP STORIES

When the ‘Dreamers’ Met Trump

In the summer of 2013, Donald Trump entertained some special guests: a group of young people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The “Dreamers,” as they’ve come to be called. He pumped them for information, then gave them some chocolates, jewelry and neckties as parting gifts. Now they’re wondering what will happen. Will Trump “work something out,” as he said earlier this month, despite a campaign filled with tough immigration talk?

Some Truths About Trump’s Tweets?

A new poll says two-thirds of American voters call Trump’s tweets “reckless and distracting” compared with 1 in 5 who found them “effective and informative.” As Cathleen Decker writes in an analysis, Trump’s tweets aren’t just polarizing: The ones in which he makes provably false claims — such as saying the Obama administration had not raised alarm about Russian interference in the presidential election before Nov. 8 — can undermine the trust-based relationship with the country any president needs.

More Politics

-- Trump called Josh Earnest “a foolish guy” after the White House press secretary said the president-elect should stop attacking U.S. intelligence agencies.

-- After losing at the polls, Sheriff Joe Arpaio attempted to revive debate over President Obama’s birth certificate.

-- Trump’s electoral college win is all but certain, but Hollywood actors are urging a revolt in a new video.

-- These are all the jobs Trump has to fill — including the Cabinet, the ambassador to Fiji, to the members of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad — in one huge graphic.

Judgment Day for the Charleston Church Killer

A jury has found white supremacist Dylann Roof guilty on all 33 counts in the massacre of nine black members of a Bible study class in South Carolina. Next month, Roof will face sentencing, and in an unusual move, he’s chosen to defend himself. Depending on what the jury decides, he could become the first person in U.S. history sentenced to death in a federal hate-crimes trial.

The Feds Look at Orange County’s ‘Snitch’ Problem

It began with the killing of eight people at a Seal Beach hair salon five years ago and transformed into one of the biggest law enforcement scandals in Orange County history. Now, the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the district attorney’s office has routinely denied people a fair trial by using jailhouse informants to secretly gather evidence.

Huntington Beach’s Poseidon Adventure

The idea seems simple enough: Take seawater, remove the salt and there you have it — a drought-proof supply of H2O. But it’s not that simple. Experts say desalination can harm the marine environment, suck up energy and produce some of the most expensive drinking water out there. That’s why a big, politically charged fight is brewing over the Poseidon Water company’s plan for a desalination project in Huntington Beach that would take over a neighboring power plant’s giant seawater intake pipe.

The Year That Was in Arts and Entertainment

Films that addressed the difficulties of human connection in moments of upheaval. Music that moved us as we lost idols from the past. Triumphs on the stage, and Black Lives Matter as a case study in art as protest. The Times’ critics and writers take a look back at the year’s defining moments in culture.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

“I’m a slow-scoring center with just two weaknesses — offense and defense.” That’s how Alan Thicke described himself as a hockey player back in 1986, when The Times tagged along at one of the many games he played in Southern California. Thicke, who collapsed while warming up at a Burbank rink and died this week, never lost his self-deprecating sense of humor, even if he did hang out with the Great One himself, Wayne Gretzky.

CALIFORNIA

-- Major storms barreled into the state. One small town in the north Bay Area received nearly 7 inches of rain in 24 hours.

-- Officials say P-39, a mountain lion who gave birth to three photogenic kittens this year, was struck and killed by a vehicle while crossing the 118 Freeway near Chatsworth.

-- Colleagues are struggling to understand why an Orange County Fire Authority captain killed himself by jumping onto the 5 Freeway in Mission Viejo.

-- With recreational marijuana now legal in California, columnist Robin Abcarian checked out the mood at the Emerald Cup harvest festival in Sonoma County.

YOUR WEEKEND

-- How do you deck the halls? This couple in Reseda went all out on a Christmas-at-Hogwarts theme.

-- Where to dine out on New Year’s Eve. Make those reservations now.

-- Our gift guide is here for you last-minute shoppers.

-- Nic’s Beverly Hills is closing at year’s end, so say goodbye to vodka tastings in that giant freezer.

-- Your tip sheet for the Southern California art scene.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- “Rogue One” may be the first “Star Wars” film you don’t take the kids to. The filmmakers say they talked a lot about that.

-- Movie review: “Fences” has some powerful performances and, for better and worse, still feels like the August Wilson play on which it’s based.

-- Susan Sarandon reflects on “Thelma & Louise”: “It never occurred to me … that it would upset people to have women in those parts.”

-- Here’s why Cuban singer-songwriter Carlos Varela has been called “the Poet of Havana” and “the Bob Dylan of Cuba.”

-- Fashion rewind: The defining looks of Michelle Obama’s White House years.

NATION-WORLD

-- Amid international outrage over the treatment of civilians, Syrian President Bashar Assad hailed “the liberation of Aleppo.”

-- Police records show that a stroke of luck and gun laws kept a fatal shooting at a mall in Washington state from being even deadlier.

-- New York authorities say a young Muslim woman made up a story about being threatened on a subway train by Trump supporters.

-- Egypt’s government says traces of explosives have been found on some of the victims of an EgyptAir flight that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea in May.

-- A new study looks at depression among airline pilots and how many have had suicidal thoughts.

BUSINESS

-- Facebook is working to stop fake news from spreading, and it wants your help.

-- California has adopted the nation’s first energy-efficiency rules for computers.

-- FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will leave the agency Jan. 20, guaranteeing Republicans will have a majority.

SPORTS

-- Things went from bad to worse for the Rams as they lost to the Seattle Seahawks and quarterback Jared Goff was injured by a hard hit.

-- In the D-League, basketball players make $26,000 or $19,500 a year and keep hoping for a chance to play in the NBA.

OPINION

-- The electoral college has always been the wrong way to choose a president.

-- Trump vowed to increase offshore drilling. President Obama should try to prevent that.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- A New Yorker writer puts forward 13 women who should think about running for president in 2020.

-- The president-elect bashed Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter after this review of Trump Grill.

-- Beware of Tuesday the 13th: a map of 150 superstitions around the world. (Atlas Obscura)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

A horse is a horse, of course, unless the horse is the famous California Chrome. In that case, he has his own fan club called the Chromies, who turn out in the early morning to watch the world’s most popular horse work out at Los Alamitos Race Course. But for this band of dedicated fans, time is running out: California Chrome will be leaving the Golden State soon as he heads into the final stretch of his racing career.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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