Newsletter: Today: Major Questions and Microaggressions

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

TOP STORIES

With Bob Iger as QB, Will Carson Get the NFL?

Bob Iger has made Disney the envy of the entertainment world over the last 10 years. Can he help return the NFL to the L.A. area? The CEO has agreed to join the effort backed by the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. Here's what that means for a proposed stadium in Carson, for the executive whose Disney employment contract ends in 2018 and for "the House the Mouse Built."

Why Microaggression Is a Big Deal

College life today poses some difficult racial questions. There are overt acts of bias, like the ones that led to the University of Missouri protests. And then there is a more subtle form with which schools are increasingly grappling. "Microaggressions" — everyday slights and snubs, sometimes unintentional — have been mocked by some as the height of political correctness. Read how universities are working to define them and act on them. 

Metro's 'Missing Link'

It's been called the "missing link": a 1.9-mile subway project to knit together three downtown Los Angeles rail lines. It was supposed to open in late 2020 and cost $1.42 billion. But a new Metro analysis says it's at least six months behind and 9% over cost estimates. Experts say hitting overruns this early on — before tunneling has even started — isn't a good sign.

One Grew Up Jewish, the Other a Hitler Youth

Jack Yufe and his identical twin, Oskar Stohr, were 6 months old when their parents split. Jack stayed in Trinidad with his father and eventually moved to Israel and the U.S., while Oskar went to Germany with his mother amid the Nazis' rise to power. Decades later, they discovered they dressed alike, walked alike and both loved butter and spicy food. But that's only where the story begins.

Immigration, Obama and the Red States

Is President Obama enforcing immigration law or changing it? That's the key question as the administration seeks to get the Supreme Court to hear the matter of his executive order to shield up to 5 million people from deportation. It also defines the battle between Obama and 26 Republican-led states that say he went too far.

CALIFORNIA

-- What all that snow in the Sierra Nevadas means for the drought.

-- Why 26 asylum-seekers in a California detention center have stopped eating.

-- David Geffen is donating $100 million for a school partly for the children of UCLA faculty and staff.

-- Legendary stripper and San Francisco institution Carol Doda has died at 78.

NATION-WORLD

-- In Athens, former Olympic venues now play host to refugees.

-- Carrying coffins, thousands of Afghans protest beheadings of Hazara minorities.

-- Tension and fear continue to roil the University of Missouri.

-- David Horsey: Hooking up with the presidential candidates in a new cartoon format.

-- Obesity is still a growing problem for American adults, the CDC says.

-- Scientists think they've found the most important planet outside our solar system.

BUSINESS

-- With help from Daniel Craig, how Alibaba turned 11-11 into China's biggest shopping day.

-- Q&A: DraftKings co-founder Jason Robins bets on strong growth.

-- As bitcoin's value surges, its backers say the currency may soon go mainstream. 

SPORTS

-- Alysia Montano, an 800-meter runner who finished fifth at the London Olympics, could end up with bronze.

-- Tale of the tape: Inglewood's versus Carson's NFL stadium plans.

ENTERTAINMENT

-- The Will Smith film "Concussion" throws down a gauntlet to the NFL.

-- Frances Stark: visual poet laureate of the Internet age.

-- Is playing the new "Fallout 4" video game worth all the work?

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Meet some conservative student activists in the most liberal state in America. (Vice)

-- The 5, the 101, the 405: Why Southern Californians love saying "the" before freeway numbers. (KCET)

-- Revisiting the history of rock and roll. (The New Yorker)

ONLY IN L.A.

Say you're a 27-year-old sportscaster, and you get the call to work for a Major League Baseball team. And the man who has broadcast that team's games says he may retire after next season, his 67th consecutive year. No pressure in being Vin Scully's heir apparent, right? Introducing Joe Davis, who will call 50 Dodgers road games on TV.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.