Newsletter: Today: You Call This Love? Seems Like It Always Rains in Southern California.
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
You Call This Love?
President Trump says he loves the Dreamer kids. “DACA is a very, very difficult subject for me,” he remarked during his hour-plus news conference yesterday. “It’s one of the most difficult subjects I have because you have these incredible kids.” But while Trump says he wants to treat the children brought into the country illegally “with heart,” his senior aides have examined at least two options to end protections for the Dreamers while shielding Trump from the blowback. Get the details in our exclusive story.
Chaos! What Chaos?! Try ‘Fine-Tuned Machine!’
Trump had some more things to get off his chest at that news conference. First, his replacement nominee for Labor secretary. Then, “the incredible progress that has been made” and the “fine-tuned machine” that his been his administration. And then, prompted by questions: “fake news,” “criminal leaks,” Russia, Mike Flynn, the travel ban, his electoral victory, Hillary Clinton, inner cities, his wife and much more. (Watch the full conference here, along with some of the more unexpected moments, and read the transcript.) So how did he rate his own hour-plus performance?
Here Comes Travel Ban 2.0
If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Trump says he’ll be issuing a new executive order to restrict travel from nations linked to terrorism “next week some time,” rather than trying to appeal the old one aimed at travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries. No details yet, other than it will be tailored to “a very bad decision” by the courts. Will the next one stand a better chance?
More Politics
-- Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward has turned down an offer to be the new national security advisor.
-- Trump and his aides have offered mixed messages on Russia.
-- What’s your sign? Draw one that describes how you feel about the country and see what other readers have created.
Seems Like It Always Rains in Southern California
Pouring rain and powerful winds will hit Southern California today. Forecasters say it could be the strongest storm in the last six years and could dump up to half a foot of rain in some parts of L.A. County. Much of that should come in the afternoon and evening. “The afternoon commute is going to be a mess,” said one meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Hopefully people can take a half day off.”
More About the California Storms
-- A storm headed to the Oroville Dam area could bring 10 inches of rain.
-- A report says rain runoff may have undermined the dam’s concrete spillway.
-- Record drought + record rain = toppled trees. How do you know if your tree is in trouble?
This Golfer Doesn’t Have an Army Like Grandpa Did
Sam Saunders has been toiling away on the PGA Tour, yet he is still golf royalty. After all, he got playing tips and tough love from Arnold Palmer, his grandfather. As the 29-year-old plays in the L.A. tournament his famous ancestor won three times, Saunders says he has learned how to live in a giant shadow. “When I was younger I got a little tired of being asked about him,” Saunders said. “But now I’m very proud of being Arnold Palmer’s grandson.”
FLASHBACK FRIDAY
With today’s big storm, this is no time to be getting near the Los Angeles River. But back in February 1958, just after the Army Corps of Engineers had finished concreting the bottom and sides of the river, an L.A. Times reporter and photographer set out to cruise its 50-plus miles from start to sea in a rubber raft. One problem: not enough water.
CALIFORNIA
-- L.A.’s community plans have languished for years. Now they’re an unlikely issue in the March election.
-- The former mayor of Palm Springs and two major developers were charged with public corruption and other felonies in a bribery scheme.
-- Many immigrants in Los Angeles rooted for the Day Without Immigrants protest, but a lot couldn’t risk skipping a day of work.
-- The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an alleged head-butting incident involving pop star Justin Bieber at a West Hollywood restaurant.
YOUR WEEKEND
-- A rare Anhui-style restaurant has opened in San Gabriel. Times food critic Jonathan Gold gives his first impressions of the place.
-- Enchiladas, salmon and more dinner ideas ready in less than an hour.
-- Art world happenings, including a look at the women of Abstract Expressionism.
-- Our movie critics recommend “Moonlight,” “Manchester by the Sea” and more.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Not recommended by our critic: “The Great Wall,” starring Matt Damon, crumbles in epic fashion.
-- President Roosevelt’s signed Executive Order 9066 will go on display in L.A. as part of an exhibition about the internment of Japanese Americans.
-- Director Gore Verbinski opens up about his Hollywood hiatus, finding “A Cure for Wellness” and sock puppets.
-- YouTube star PewDiePie has apologized for anti-Semitic jokes in his videos but says media outlets took them out of context.
NATION-WORLD
-- Fearing deportation, an undocumented mother in Denver has sought refuge in a church.
-- Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a blast that killed more than 70 people at a Sufi shrine in Pakistan. Islamic State has also claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack that killed several dozen people in southern Baghdad.
-- Life returns to not-quite normal in the half of Mosul freed from Islamic State.
-- South Korean authorities have arrested the heir apparent to Samsung Electronics in connection with a sprawling corruption scandal.
-- NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has spotted signs of organic molecules, life’s building blocks, on the frigid dwarf planet Ceres.
BUSINESS
-- David Lazarus: The explanation for the $4,500 price tag of a drug illustrates the lunacy of the U.S. healthcare system.
-- Trump’s attacks on CNN aren’t hurting it one bit, according to the network’s president.
SPORTS
-- Bill Plaschke says the signs are all there: Magic Johnson will be the man in charge of the Los Angeles Lakers.
-- The creator of UCLA’s Frisbee Cheer isn’t happy with how it is performed at basketball games today.
OPINION
-- Factual leaks infuriate a president who tweets nonsense: See the David Horsey cartoon.
-- An L.A. Times research librarian explains why he’s breaking up with the Blue Line after 19 years.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- The Trump family’s lifestyle is a challenge for the Secret Service, at taxpayer expense. (Washington Post)
-- What happens when you’re on top of the world but all you can think about is ending it all? (The Players’ Tribune)
-- How do you edit an animated movie? As this video essay explains, you edit first and shoot later.
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
El Capitan in Yosemite National Park has its own tale of fire and ice. In mid- to late February, if the setting sun hits at just the right angle, the Horsetail Fall will light up with an orange glow that looks like lava. Get a glimpse of it here.
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