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Newsletter: Today: Drill, Baby, Drill? Not While I’m Here, Obama Says. A Manhunt in Berlin, and Precautions in L.A.

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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

Drill, Baby, Drill? Not While I’m Here, Obama Says

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President Obama has invoked a rarely used legal provision to create a permanent ban on offshore drilling in parts of the Arctic and Atlantic coasts. But with one month before Donald Trump takes office, how permanent is “permanent”? The White House says it’s “quite confident” that Trump can’t undo the decision, while some oil industry leaders say he could easily reverse it.

More Politics

-- How Faith Spotted Eagle became the first Native American to get an electoral vote for president.

-- White nationalist Richard Spencer is considering a run for a congressional seat in Montana.

-- California secession organizers say they’ve opened an embassy … in Moscow.

A Manhunt in Berlin, and Precautions in L.A.

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German police made an unsettling admission: They arrested the wrong man and are still looking for the perpetrator of an apparent terrorist attack on a Berlin Christmas market, for which Islamic State has claimed responsibility. But police said Wednesday they are hunting for a Tunisian man whose documents they found in the truck. Given that using a vehicle to inflict casualties is from ISIS’ playbook, officials in L.A. are trying to tighten security at shopping areas, farmers markets and other large gathering places.

In Mexico, an Open-Air Market Tragedy of a Different Kind

It looked like an aerial bombing: fireballs and flashes bursting from buildings. Only this was an open-air fireworks market outside Mexico City, one that was proclaimed “the safest pyrotechnics market in all of Latin America” after tragedies struck a decade ago. The market was reportedly filled with shoppers getting fireworks, which are a common part of Mexican Christmas celebrations. Now, at least 29 are dead and dozens more injured. Here is the latest.

Caught in a Medi-Cal Nightmare

Medi-Cal, the state’s healthcare program for low-income and disabled Californians, covers 4.2 million people in L.A. County. But some are getting an unpleasant surprise: They’re getting dropped from Medi-Cal, even though they say they turned in their renewal paperwork on time to the county. As patients worry about running out of medicine and getting reinstated, officials are tight-lipped about what happened.

Jonathan Gold: The Man and, Now, the Machine

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If you ever wanted The Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning restaurant critic Jonathan Gold to give you dining recommendations 24/7, you’re in luck. The “belly of Los Angeles” has passed along his encyclopedic knowledge of the best food in L.A. to his robot twin: Goldbot. Chat with him, er, it on Facebook Messenger. You can even ask, “What is the meaning of life?”

HOLIDAY SEASON

-- Listen: Christmas historian Bruce Forbes talks with Patt Morrison about “Merry Christmas” versus “Happy holidays” and our many reasons for the season.

-- Hanukkah decor for eight nights and beyond.

-- Check out our favorite holiday dessert recipes, including this marzipan stollen.

-- Some of the best displays of Christmas lights in the West.

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CALIFORNIA

-- The FAA is investigating an incident in which a passenger aircraft out of LAX was given wrong directions by traffic controllers and headed toward the San Gabriel Mountains.

-- The body of a nurse and former reality show contestant who went missing in the South Bay was found in a shallow grave, police say. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

-- San Francisco libraries want to microchip their books, but the ACLU opposes it.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Tom Arnold claims he has footage of Trump saying “every dirty, every offensive, racist thing ever.”

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-- With its latest admissions, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is evolving … very, very slowly.

-- Movie review: “Patriots Day” finds Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg at their best in a fine tribute to the people of Boston.

-- What happens when Jerry Lewis isn’t so hostile in an interview? Well, there are still a few death stares.

-- Getting to know them: Go backstage with the smallest cast members of the “The King and I” at the Pantages.

NATION-WORLD

-- Russia and Turkey are staging a show of solidarity as officials continue to investigate the Russian ambassador’s killing.

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-- It might not have been terror: The motive of the gunman in the Zurich mosque shooting remains a mystery.

-- Don’t tell the president-elect: China has returned an American underwater drone that its navy seized last week.

-- How to save at least 32,000 lives each year? Replace male doctors with female ones, a study says.

BUSINESS

-- Cheaper, cleaner and safer? Hospitals are turning to disposable scopes to fight superbug infections.

-- “The Great Wall,” starring Matt Damon, is testing the market for a different kind of cross-border collaboration: U.S.-China co-productions.

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SPORTS

-- A look at the UCLA-USC basketball rivalry in 1970-71, the last time both won so many games to start a season.

-- Skip a bowl game for the draft? Not for the Rose Bowl, USC players say.

OPINION

-- Normalization? We should demand that Trump behave like a normal president.

-- Message from Syria to the United States: We’ll never again believe your lofty rhetoric.

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WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Here’s why you shouldn’t be surprised about Teen Vogue’s aggressive political coverage. (Quartz)

-- Family members of three men killed in the Pulse nightclub attack are suing Twitter, Facebook and Google, claiming that the companies allowed Islamic State to push its agenda. (Orlando Sentinel)

-- The story of Cindy Stowell, the “Jeopardy!” contestant who died before her winning streak was broadcast. (CNN)

ONLY IN L.A.

The Los Angeles Zoo is experiencing a baby boom these days. The bundles of joy? Armenian vipers, black-tailed horn vipers and several types of rattlesnakes, all rare and endangered. Just don’t try to play pat-a-cake with them.

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