Newsletter: Today: What Trump Can (and Can’t) Do Quickly. Eternal Fight Over the Death Penalty.
I’m Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss on Veterans Day, including our weekend recommendations and weekly look back into the archives.
TOP STORIES
Mr. Trump and the Limits of Presidential Power
In front of the cameras in the Oval Office, Donald Trump and President Obama talked of cooperation and having had a productive 90-minute meeting to discuss the transition of power. Beyond that, as they say, the game is afoot. Obama aides are preparing a campaign to remind people of what they stand to lose if Trump rolls back Obama-led regulations, executive orders and agreements. Trump, meanwhile, has all those campaign promises to live up to. How quickly could he act? Here’s a primer on executive power.
Pull the Plug on Obamacare? Not So Fast
Near the top of Trump’s list is repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. Republicans have talked about it for six years. Yet pulling the plug on healthcare for 20 million Americans and installing a new system is a tall order. Michael Hiltzik breaks down why repealing Obamacare is almost impossible, but doing a lot of damage to it is more likely.
Send Them Back? Yes, He Could Act Quickly
Though replacing Obamacare could be a slog, gutting Obama’s immigration policies could be quick. Advisors to Trump’s transition team say his aides have begun drafting instructions that Trump can issue on his first day in office to begin rounding up more people for deportation. Using executive authority, he could also swiftly restrict the number of refugees admitted and effectively bar visitors from Muslim countries.
More Post-Election News
— Thousands of Americans, especially young people, are protesting the outcome of the election. Trump tweeted that the protests are “very unfair” and accused the media of fanning the flames.
— The Ku Klux Klan says it will hold a Trump victory parade in North Carolina.
— For the fourth time in American history, the president-elect lost the popular vote.
— Democrats seem split over how to regroup.
The Eternal Fight Over the Death Penalty
Those fighting the death penalty had high hopes that California voters would abolish capital punishment. Instead, Prop. 62 went down to defeat, and a measure to speed the legal process for executions is narrowly winning as votes are still being counted. If Prop. 66 passes, though, questions remain about how to implement it — and activists plan to challenge its legality.
Farewell to the Bard of Montreal
Poet. Singer. Ladies’ man. Buddhist monk. Leonard Cohen was all of these and more, as one of music’s most influential and admired figures for four decades. “This is our Shelley, this is our Byron,” U2 singer Bono said in a 2006 documentary about Cohen. Yet for much of his career, Cohen struggled to find an audience. Take a look back at the enigmatic music maker, who has died at age 82.
You Know Joe From AP, and Yet You Don’t
You’ve probably read one of Joe Resnick’s stories. He has spent his life covering sports for the Associated Press, but most of his articles never carried his byline. Married to his job, he labored in solitude and anonymity. And when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, Resnick was resigned to dying the same way. But as Bill Plaschke writes, Resnick’s colleagues and friends were determined not to let that happen.
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CALIFORNIA
— Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has joined the governor’s race for 2018. Here’s a rundown of who’s running and who’s still on the fence.
— Current Mayor Eric Garcetti’s vision of the city’s future is getting a boost with the passage of two key measures.
— Are Los Angeles police chases worth the risk to bystanders? Last year saw record injuries.
— Audits find that taxpayers missed out on millions in revenue from the L.A. County Fairgrounds.
— La Niña has arrived, with little rain in store for Southern California.
YOUR WEEKEND
— Our film critics offer movie recommendations for you.
— Prefer legit theater instead? Here’s what is opening.
— Where to find your Thanksgiving turkey.
— Enter our L.A. Times Holiday Bake-Off. And while you’re at it, try this ultimate wedding cookie recipe.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
— For classic Hollywood films, this is the best and worst of times.
— They’re here: “Arrival” revisits the conventions of alien invasion movies but with unexpected intelligence, visual style and heart.
— “Tell the judge I love my wife”: The team behind “Loving” brings a quiet civil rights battle to life.
— From “Lawrence of Arabia” to “Fifty Shades of Grey,” Anne Coates is Hollywood’s premier editor. She’ll get an honorary Oscar this weekend.
NATION-WORLD
— Decades after the war, Vietnam veterans are fighting an unseen killer: a rare form of cancer that results from having ingested parasites in raw or poorly cooked river fish.
— Watch: An Islamic State fighter insists he never wanted “to get my hands bloody.”
— More women in Iran are forgoing marriage. One reason? The men aren’t good enough, they say.
— The new head of Interpol is a Chinese security official. Some are worried that will make it easier for Beijing to hunt down political opponents abroad.
— Why are we ticklish? Scientists who tickled rats offer an intriguing answer.
BUSINESS
— Here’s what a recreational marijuana market in California might look like.
— After Trump’s win, even some in Silicon Valley wonder: Has Facebook grown too influential?
SPORTS
— Quarterback controversy in L.A. is nothing new for the Rams. Remember Vince Ferragamo and Joe Namath?
— Lonzo Ball and his dynamic deliveries offer UCLA basketball some needed enchantment.
OPINION
— With Trump’s election, science and the global environment will lose, unless he wises up.
— Austin Beutner and Mickey Kantor: The way L.A. decides what gets built where is outdated, morally corrupt and unfair.
BACK IN TIMES
Ninety-eight years ago today, the front page of the Los Angeles Times had one headline and one story in big, bold type: “PEACE.” It proclaimed the end of World War I, or as H.G. Wells once called it, “the war that will end war.” (Sadly, that catchphrase wouldn’t prove true.) Originally called Armistice Day in honor of the agreement to end hostilities, the holiday went on to be renamed Veterans Day in 1954. See more photos here.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
— Members of the alt-right want Trump to give them their due. (Washington Post)
— Award-winning writer Aaron Sorkin pens a letter to his daughter after Trump’s victory. (Vanity Fair)
— Did you see the poem that went viral after the election? The editor of Poetry magazine explains why it made the rounds. (The Atlantic)
ONLY IN L.A.
The film “La La Land” was conceived as a kind of love letter to L.A., shot at 48 locations including the Watts Towers, Angels Flight and Griffith Observatory. Jazz fans will recognize the Lighthouse Café in Hermosa Beach. But for the ultimate L.A. experience, the opening song-and-dance number was filmed on the freeway — the EZ Pass lane connecting the 110 and the 105, to be precise. To do so, they had to shut it down twice. Talk about hustle and no flow.
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