Newsletter: Today: After Flynngate, an About-Face. An Officer Falls, and a Police Chief Says, ‘Enough Is Enough.’

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

After Flynngate, the White House Does an About-Face

A week after the departure of conspiratorially minded Michael Flynn, President Trump has named a new national security advisor. This time, he’s selected a cerebral, widely respected military strategist in Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster. And here’s something we haven’t seen for a while: Praise for Trump’s pick came from both sides of the political aisle. But how will he deal with Stephen Bannon and Co.?

More Politics

-- More than half the candidates in L.A.’s latest congressional race have their own immigrant story. With Trump, this contest is personal.

-- Milo Yiannopoulos lost his book deal and has been disinvited to a conservative conference after an attempt to clarify past comments on relationships between boys and older men.

An Officer Falls, and a Police Chief Says, ‘Enough Is Enough’

The call was a Monday morning traffic collision. When officers from the Whittier Police Department responded, a man who had been involved in the accident opened fire, fatally wounding a 27-year veteran of the department and injuring another officer. Detectives say the suspect is a recently paroled 26-year-old who, just hours earlier, had killed a man in East L.A. and stolen a car. Whittier’s police chief says new laws designed to give criminals an early release are to blame.

Whittier Police Chief Jeff Piper, right, and other law enforcement personnel escort the body of slain Officer Keith Boyer.

(Michael Owen Baker / For The Times)

Storm Watch in Northern California

It’s nervous time again in Northern California as another powerful storm moves through. On top of the continuing drama in Oroville, officials in Stanislaus County have opened a spillway at the Don Pedro Dam for the first time in two decades in an attempt to prevent the reservoir from overflowing. Here is the latest.

When a $30-an-Hour Ohio Job Moved to Mexico for … $1

Chris Wade used to assemble cables and electronics for $30 an hour at Delphi Automotive in Warren, Ohio. Berta Alicia Lopez now does the same work at the company’s plant in Juarez, Mexico — for $1 an hour. They live 1,800 miles and a border apart. Times reporter Kate Linthicum and visual journalist Katie Falkenberg visited both to deliver a story and video that explore how Wade’s and Lopez’s lives have changed in an era of free trade.

More States See Marijuana as a Pot of Gold

For those in favor of legalizing marijuana in the U.S., the hits keep coming. Eight states, including California, have already passed ballot measures in favor of recreational pot. This year, lawmakers in 17 states are looking to legalize it too, but not as an expression of lifestyle or freedom. It’s because they want to cash in on taxes.

L.A. Is Stepping Off the Bus

Although a study has crowned Los Angeles as 2016’s most traffic-congested city in the world, public transportation had a banner year with the opening of two light-rail extensions and the approval of a sales tax increase to fund more expansion. One problem: Ridership dropped again, this time nearly 6%, as fewer people took the bus. Where have the riders gone, and what will bring them back?

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

-- The 2018 Senate election will be crucial for President Trump and his Democratic opponents.

-- The psychiatrist who helped define narcissism says Trump is a “world-class narcissist” but he’s not mentally ill.

-- How Norma McCorvey, the “Roe” in Roe vs. Wade, went from being an anonymous plaintiff to a symbol for both sides of the abortion debate.

-- Interviews and records suggest that the government severely misjudged the strength of the emergency spillway at Oroville Dam.

-- Steve Lopez: The new Coastal Commission chief is a good bet to defend California’s beaches.

-- A real-life look at the crazy odds and tortured dreams of making it in La La Land.

-- Chris Erskine: After his wife’s cancer diagnosis, the family pulls together, and L.A. shows its heart.

CALIFORNIA

-- Trump widens a generation gap in Little Saigon: older Republicans vs. liberal youths.

-- A hub for Iraqi refugees, San Diego is making way for new faces, this time from Syria.

-- L.A.’s school board races have attracted millions in outside spending.

-- What exactly is Measure S? Here’s a breakdown of the ballot measure to restrict development in the city of L.A.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- UCLA’s Hollywood diversity report finds that women and minorities have made modest gains but remain underrepresented as leading actors in films, as TV show creators and as writers.

-- With the Ringling era ending, two acrobatic shows in L.A. fly high with modern takes on the circus.

-- Times film critic Kenneth Turan remembers fellow critic Richard Schickel as tough, honest and ever hopeful for the next great movie.

-- Countdown to the Oscars: Here are the streets you’ll want to avoid for the next several days.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

A kiss is just a kiss, but during an episode of “All in the Family” that aired this week in 1972, Sammy Davis Jr. paid a visit to Archie Bunker (played by Carroll O’Connor) and planted his lips on the bigoted Bunker’s cheek.

NATION-WORLD

-- U.S. military advisors are now fighting alongside Iraqi forces near the front lines against Islamic State, a sign of President Trump’s willingness to grant more latitude to American commanders.

-- Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations died suddenly after falling ill in his office.

-- Famine has struck in South Sudan, one of four countries where people now face starvation.

-- Nigeria’s president has been out of the country for a month for unspecified medical tests.

-- Can a mouse meditate? A new study suggests the answer is ... kind of.

BUSINESS

-- Tesla will announce its earnings on Wednesday, but analysts are more focused on the future.

-- Some Volkswagen owners say they’re still waiting for their buybacks, almost four months after a judge approved a settlement.

SPORTS

-- Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Sean Doolittle has done charity work for veterans and refugees alike.

-- Five questions to keep in mind as the NBA trade deadline approaches Thursday.

OPINION

-- If the Justice Department investigates Trump’s alleged ties to Russia, Jeff Sessions needs to stay away.

-- To deliver the economic growth Trump has promised, the U.S. should have a wall to keep immigrants in, not out.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- A visit to Fordlandia, the town Henry Ford built in Brazil. It’s crumbling but not deserted. (New York Times)

-- Miss Manners looks at rudeness in the Trump era. (The Atlantic)

-- African American inventors were once not allowed to hold patents, but that didn’t hold them back from innovating. (Smithsonian Magazine)

ONLY IN L.A.

Look, up in the sky, it’s a … parsnip with duck fat?! At 950 feet above downtown Los Angeles, the restaurant 71Above serves a prix fixe dinner at $70. Though as Times food critic Jonathan Gold writes, you’re probably paying more attention to the view. To get there, you’ll pass through nearly half a dozen checkpoints and two banks of elevators. Going up!

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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