Newsletter: Today: Electoral College Is Now in Session. Like Big Tobacco, OxyContin Goes Global.

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

Electoral College Is Now in Session

The electoral college’s selection of the president of the United States is usually a pretty sleepy affair. Not so this year, with protests on the streets and many having signed petitions in opposition to Donald Trump. Today, electors will get down to business in 51 separate meetings nationwide. Anything other than a Trump victory seems highly unlikely — 37 electors would have to turn from him to Clinton or some other candidate — but as with the rest of this election, don’t rule out a few twists. We’ll be following all the developments here as they unfold.

More Politics

-- Four powerful members of the Senate called for the creation of a special select committee to investigate Russian attempts to influence the presidential election.

-- Trump tells China: Go ahead, keep that U.S. military drone you seized.

-- Trump is delivering on his promise to be unpredictable on foreign affairs. Not everyone is convinced that’s a good idea.

-- Why our presidents are elected by a cabal of elites.

Like Big Tobacco, OxyContin Goes Global

Prescriptions for OxyContin in the United States have fallen nearly 40% since 2010, meaning billions in lost revenue for Purdue Pharma. So the company’s owners are pursuing a new strategy: Put the painkiller that set off the U.S. opioid crisis into medicine cabinets around the world. Read the third part of a Los Angeles Times investigation exploring the role of OxyContin in the nation’s opioid epidemic.

East of Aleppo, a Stark Home Away From Home

In the cold of winter, thousands of Syrian refugees huddle in temporary shelters just east of the city of Aleppo. The conditions there are harsh, but with food, medical aid and relative safety, they’re better than the ones the people have escaped. Now, as the evacuation of residents from an area claimed by the rebels starts and stalls, the refugees wait. Here’s a look inside one shelter.

California’s Public Pensions: Where Math and Politics Collide

The directors of CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension fund, will meet on Tuesday to discuss whether taxpayers should pitch in more money to cover all those retirement costs that continue to build. If that sounds familiar, it is: It will be the second time in a month that they will do so. As Sacramento bureau chief John Myers writes, the math on this is pretty simple; the politics, not so much.

Loans to the Pot Industry: High Risk, High Return

For businesses in California’s newly legalized recreational marijuana industry, getting a bank loan isn’t an option. With no protection in federal bankruptcy courts and the ever-present threat of federal asset seizures, traditional financial institutions won’t go there. That’s opened the door for private lenders to step in and demand hefty interest on their loans, sometimes up to 20%.

She Was Larger Than Life, Dahlink

Zsa Zsa Gabor once said she was “born to make headlines.” That, she did — with a glamorous lifestyle, often risqué one-liners, nine marriages, a 1989 assault conviction for slapping a Beverly Hills police officer and more. Yes, she was famous for being famous but also acted in at least 30 films. Take a look back at the last-surviving Gabor sister, who died at age 99 over the weekend.

The Year That Was in Arts and Entertainment

Films addressing the difficulties of human connection in moments of societal upheaval. Music that moved us as we lost our idols from the past. Triumphs on the stage, and Black Lives Matter as a case study in art as protest. In case you missed it, here are The Times’ critics and writers on the year’s defining moments in culture.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

-- Gun store owners in California say people are buying up weapons ahead of more restrictive state laws taking effect Jan. 1.

-- An internal report on last year’s unprecedented one-day shutdown of Los Angeles schools due to a terrorist threat reveals a confused chain of command.

-- For Asians in the U.S. illegally, “there’s more shame and more quiet,” as one student puts it.

-- In one small Mexican town, the citizens have become armed vigilantes to take on a drug gang.

-- The world’s largest diamonds reveal the secrets of the inner Earth.

-- Amazon drivers say they are being pushed to the limit as holiday deliveries reach a frenzy.

-- The sweet results of this year’s Los Angeles Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off. And the winners are…

CALIFORNIA

-- The confidential health data or personal information of more than 750,000 people may have been accessed in a cyberattack on L.A. County employees. Officials say a Nigerian national has been charged.

-- Investigators are still trying to determine what caused a large eucalyptus tree to collapse on a wedding party in Whittier. It killed one woman.

-- Lytton Savings, a midcentury modern building on Sunset Boulevard that is set to be torn down for a Frank Gehry-designed complex, might be moved.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- L.A.’s DIY music scene is thinking about its next steps amid a crackdown on unapproved venues after the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland.

-- “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” had the third-best opening of a movie this year.

-- TV critic Robert Lloyd on that time when Jimmy mussed Donny and other instances of TV softballing Trump.

-- Theater review: The off-kilter charms of “Amelie” sing with spirit at the Ahmanson.

NATION-WORLD

-- In Hungary, the shutdown of a prominent, left-leaning newspaper has highlighted what media watchdogs and rights groups describe as an accelerating erosion of media freedom.

-- “No walk of society is immune. Even the sons of Islamic clerics are patients in our clinics”: Iran is confronting a growing drug problem.

-- Dissident artist Ai Weiwei, once banned from leaving China, wants to go to Syria for his documentary about refugees.

-- Emboldened by Trump, Taiwan sees an opening to improve its international standing.

-- With an especially busy travel season underway, the polar vortex hits the U.S. and Canada again, making the weather a mess.

BUSINESS

-- The U.S. shipping industry is poised for massive upheaval. Can FedEx ride it out?

-- Michael Hiltzik: Those California raisins may be gone from the airwaves, but they’re still making waves in court.

SPORTS

-- Jeff Fisher on his exit as Rams coach: “Bottom line is I didn’t win.”

-- Boxer Bernard Hopkins lost his last fight at age 51 as he went crashing backward out of the ring and landed on his head.

OPINION

-- The slaughter of civilians in Aleppo last week may have shocked the conscience of the world, but no one should have been surprised.

-- What does a small puddle of tar seeping out of a seam in the sidewalk say about L.A.? Everything.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Inside the cozy, profitable relationship between guns and Hollywood. (The Hollywood Reporter)

-- The CIA has released a collection of declassified maps from throughout its history. (National Geographic)

-- Fifty of this year’s best podcasts. (The Atlantic)

ONLY IN L.A.

It wouldn’t be Christmas in Los Angeles without tamales. Spicy or mild; dense, stubby ones, or those with a delicate, pudding-like consistency. Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold went on a tamale crawl and once again shows us why you can never have too many tamales.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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