Newsletter: Today: Out of the Swamp Fight, Into the Obamacare Fire. Getting Old Isn’t for the Faint of Heart.
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
Out of the Swamp Fight, Into the Obamacare Fire
Telephone lines lighted up. Social media went agog — well, more than usual. Donald Trump tweeted his displeasure. In the face of public outrage, rank-and-file Republicans in the House backed off their plan to weaken an independent ethics watchdog, at least for now. Though that battle was quickly put aside, the one over Obamacare won’t be. Republicans finally have the power to repeal it, but they are struggling over which parts of the law to roll back and how to get the votes. Then there’s the multibillion-dollar question: What will replace it?
More Politics
-- The California Legislature has tapped former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder Jr. to serve as outside counsel to guide the state’s legal strategy against Trump’s administration.
-- Ford Motor Co. said it is scrapping plans to build a $1.6-billion factory in Mexico and will expand a Michigan plant in a “vote of confidence” for Trump’s economic policies.
-- Lock her up? Hillary and Bill Clinton will attend the inaugural ceremony for Trump.
The Face of Evil and His Followers
Charles Manson and his followers were convicted of killing actress Sharon Tate and six other people in the L.A. area during two August nights in 1969. After spending decades behind bars, Manson was moved from prison to a hospital because he is seriously ill, according to a source. Meanwhile, a parole board has postponed a decision on potentially letting go one of his followers. In an op-ed piece, Debra Tate, Sharon’s sister, gives her perspective on why “all the members of the Manson family should never be granted parole.”
California Soldiers Catch a Break From the Pentagon
In October we told you about the plight of the California National Guard soldiers and veterans who were being forced to repay enlistment bonuses awarded during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Much has happened since then. Now, the Pentagon says it will waive repayment for more than 15,000 California service members. About 1,000 others will have to repay. And the program doesn’t apply to other states.
The Snowpack Is Back, but What Will End the Drought?
After years of minimal snowpack, the Sierra Nevada is facing avalanche warnings. Those dangerous conditions still don’t add up to a drought-buster, but with the statewide snowpack measurement at 70% of average, it’s another sign of improvement. More wet weather is hitting the state this week. So what would it take to end the drought?
Where Women Are the Next Generation of Computer Scientists
Nationwide, the vast majority of undergraduates who major in computer science are men. Not so at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont. There, women made up more than half of the latest class of computer science graduates. It helps that the school took a scientific approach to finding out why female students weren’t taking up the subject and then revamping the curriculum to make it more inclusive.
Getting Old Isn’t for the Faint of Heart
Just as Washington talks about cutting the social safety net, a generation of boomers is hitting retirement and caring for their elders. The financial, mental and physical costs are often overwhelming. Columnist Steve Lopez heard from many readers about their struggles after writing about his mother’s failing health and the choices that families are forced to make. He wants to know your story too.
We Want to Hear From You: Send us an email about life on the West Coast, and we’ll share it with other readers of this newsletter. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)
CALIFORNIA
-- State lawmakers want to know how Rep. Xavier Becerra would deal with Trump as California’s attorney general.
-- L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a DWP customer “bill of rights” plan, but it includes practices that are already in place at the agency and doesn’t ensure ratepayers legal protections.
-- For the second time since her double-murder conviction, former San Diego socialite Elizabeth “Betty” Broderick will appear today before a parole board.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Megyn Kelly is leaving Fox News to join NBC, where she will host a daytime show and a Sunday news magazine.
-- A throwback no more: The Coachella music festival this year is finally laying off the reunions with a lineup led by Beyoncé, Radiohead and Kendrick Lamar.
-- Gospel singer Kim Burrell is facing a backlash after she called homosexuality “perverted” in a sermon.
-- Singer Rebecca Ferguson says she’s been invited to perform at Trump’s inauguration and will do it, but only if she can sing the civil-rights anthem “Strange Fruit.”
-- Adam Driver and writer-director Jim Jarmusch find the poetry of the everyday in the film “Paterson.”
NATION-WORLD
-- A sudden increase in gasoline prices has fueled protests across Mexico.
-- South Carolina church shooter Dylann Roof plans to represent himself at his sentencing hearing today.
-- How do you rein in North Korea’s nuclear weapons? A look beyond Trump’s tweets.
-- A scary reminder to secure your furniture if you have children: video of a Utah toddler saving his twin brother after a dresser fell on top of the boy.
BUSINESS
-- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Equifax and TransUnion for providing consumers with credit scores not actually used by many lenders in making credit decisions.
-- Corona-based energy giant Monster is hoping a deal with NASCAR will rev its sales.
SPORTS
-- How close is USC to winning a national football championship?
-- The Clippers defense is starting to show flashes of its early-season form.
OPINION
-- Liberals and conservatives have one thing in common: zero interest in opposing views.
-- The Patt Morrison podcast: In our increasingly technological world, why do humans so love the supernatural?
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- The conservative intellectuals who back Trump. (The New Yorker)
-- A dystopian view of California: elitism on the coast, rampant lawlessness in the interior. (National Review)
-- Irresistible, disgusting or both? The mystery of the Jack in the Box taco. (Wall Street Journal)
ONLY IN L.A.
The 60-foot-tall Triforium sculpture was built in the mid-1970s to delight downtown L.A. pedestrians with light and music shows. Instead, it has spent much of the time being dark and collecting insults such as the “Million-Dollar Firefly,” the “Schlockenspiel” and the “Kitsch-22 of Kinetic Sculpture,” to name a few. Now there’s a plan for it to play a new tune.
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
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