Newsletter: Today: A Day to Remember the Fallen

Today is Memorial Day. I’m Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss.

TOP STORIES

A Day to Remember the Fallen

“I’m really missing you today......you will never be forgotten.” That is just one of the heartfelt comments posted by readers who knew and loved the 761 members of the American military from California who have died in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. On this Memorial Day, the Los Angeles Times is paying tribute to them.

Trump Said He Hit a ‘Home Run.’ Scoreboard?

President Trump said “we hit a home run” on his overseas trip, so let’s check the scoreboard now that he’s back: Many in Europe are concerned about the future of U.S. leadership, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said, “The era in which we could rely completely on others is gone, at least partially.” There’s still no decision about the Paris climate accord, which the president said he would make this week. Trump also tweeted, “We made and saved the USA many billions of dollars and millions of jobs,” though it’s unclear exactly how. And faced with allegations that Jared Kushner tried to set up back-channel communications with Russian officials, Trump returned to tweeting about “fake news” while administration officials said there was nothing inherently wrong about “any channel of communication.”

‘Take a Deep Breath. Then, Resist’

It’s a marathon, not a sprint: That’s what activists who fight for immigrant rights and social justice causes in L.A. are telling themselves. Just over four months into Trump’s presidency, some are feeling fatigue. So they go to workshops that encourage them to unplug and breathe deeply.

They’re Worried Sick About Healthcare

With Senate Republicans working behind closed doors on a healthcare plan and the Congressional Budget Office having rendered its verdict on the House plan (23 million Americans without insurance over the next decade), columnist Steve Lopez checked in with some real-life doctors and patients. The consensus: They’re worried sick about the future.

Men Not at Work? Women Too

Why are American women leaving the workforce? The collapse of blue-collar jobs for American men was much discussed during the election, but female-dominated fields for low-skill workers also are in a rut. Since 2000, the share of women working in their prime earning years has declined, and single women without children drove most of the downturn, according to a study.

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- A San Bernardino hairdresser describes being arrested, jailed and then transferred to ICE custody, even though she is a U.S. citizen.

-- At the “Wonder Woman” premiere, forget girl power. It’s about gender equality.

-- Designer Jenny Wu shows how she makes jewelry with 3-D printing technology.

CALIFORNIA

-- More than 150 firefighters battled a 30-acre brush fire in Brentwood that investigators say was sparked by a gas-driven weed whacker.

-- L.A. County officials are expanding their efforts to get more people signed up for food assistance.

-- Trump’s budget presents new challenges to California’s long-suffering unemployment fund.

-- Columnist George Skelton has fish on his mind, namely the fate of the state’s trout and salmon.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- An existential fight over technology, Netflix and the future of cinema played out at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which concluded with the Swedish film “The Square” winning the Palme d’Or.

-- Gregg Allman, who died at age 69 over the weekend, was the voice and face of Southern rock.

-- Shonda Rhimes revisits Shakespeare with the “Romeo and Juliet” sequel “Still Star-Crossed.”

-- A sculpture of a gallows by Los Angeles artist Sam Durant will probably be removed from a Minneapolis site after generating protests among Native American communities.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

Bob Hope was never a member of the military, but in 1997 he became the first American designated by Congress as an “honorary veteran of the United States Armed Forces” for his countless shows entertaining the troops. He was born on this date in 1903 in the United Kingdom and died on July 27, 2003, in Toluca Lake.

NATION-WORLD

-- Portland, Ore., is praising the three men who intervened when a white supremacist began shouting anti-Muslim slurs at two teenage girls. Two of the three were killed.

-- North Korea fired what appears to have been a ballistic missile that landed in the waters of Japan’s economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials say.

-- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the unusual step of convening his Cabinet at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site, spurring protest from Palestinians.

-- Chicago was the only city among the nation’s 20 largest to lose population in 2016, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

BUSINESS

-- Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly says he’s considering banning laptop computers from the cabins of all international flights to and from the United States.

-- Cars whose leases are up are beginning to flood the market and push prices down.

SPORTS

-- Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes is serving as an inspiration to kids in his old Hawthorne neighborhood by mentoring students, handing out thousands of dollars’ worth of soccer equipment and more.

-- The Dodgers swept the Cubs with a 9-4 victory, despite a rough outing for pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

-- Takuma Sato became the first Japanese driver to win the Indianapolis 500, on a day when pole-sitter Scott Dixon walked away uninjured from a spectacular crash.

OPINION

-- Enough delays already: Let’s get the housing for homeless veterans built at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus.

-- John F. Kennedy wasn’t the greatest president of all, but he was a masterful politician. He was born on this date 100 years ago.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- An in-depth video graphic breaks down what happened in the melee between Turkish security and protesters in Washington. (New York Times)

-- What happens when the police run out of things to do? Japan is finding out. (The Economist)

-- Jake Tapper of CNN asks: “Why does the Lame-Stream Media only focus on the negative regarding John Wilkes Booth?” (McSweeney’s)

ONLY IN L.A.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten may be the best-known chef in the world with all of his elaborate restaurants and Michelin stars, but he likes to keep things simple for himself: pasta, kimchi and that millennial favorite, avocado toast. (We think he can afford it.) So when he comes to L.A., what else would he do but take an Uber to get a Double Double?

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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