Newsletter: Today: Lawyers: ‘Don’t Mention the Ban.’ Trump: ‘TRAVEL BAN!’
President Trump can’t stop tweeting about, get this, the travel ban. 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
Lawyers: ‘Don’t Mention the Ban.’ Trump: ‘TRAVEL BAN!’
Most attorneys advise their clients to keep quiet during pending litigation, but when your client is a president who can’t keep away from Twitter, all bets are off. President Trump’s many tweets about his stalled “TRAVEL BAN!” (which the White House once insisted wasn’t a ban) undercut the government’s legal strategy seeking to revive it. Experts say the tweetstorm also casts doubt on whether the Supreme Court needs to intervene, and some see it as a sign Trump cares more about the court of public opinion — or at least appealing to his base.
An Infrastructure Plan That’s Far From Concrete
Meanwhile at the White House, it’s “infrastructure week,” intended to showcase the president’s plans to rebuild the nation’s roads, bridges and more. So far, they’re missing the nuts and bolts. Despite promises of “a great new era” and a “revolution” in technology, aides offered no timeline for legislation. Monday’s focal point, a bill that would see a private nonprofit group take over the nation’s air traffic control system, has been debated for years, but Trump turned the signing of a routine endorsement letter to Congress into quite the ceremony.
More From Washington
-- A woman who worked as a records contractor for the federal government has been arrested on charges of turning over a secret document to a news organization. The announcement of the arrest came hours after the Intercept published an NSA analysis concluding that Russian hackers were able to penetrate an American technology company that works with voter data.
-- Here’s what to expect when fired FBI Director James Comey testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.
-- Where’s Sean Spicer? His airtime has been cut, but we’ll always have the memories.
Britain’s Elections and ‘The Jihadis Next Door’
The deadly terror attack in London over the weekend is taking on growing political significance as a parliamentary election comes Thursday. Prime Minister Theresa May was originally looking to shore up support for the next stages of Brexit talks but now must deal with revelations that one of the attackers was known to investigators and even featured in the documentary “The Jihadis Next Door.” Here is the latest from Britain.
The Legal Specter of the Ghost Ship Fire
Six months after the one of the deadliest fires in modern California history, the manager and creative director of the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland have been charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors say the two men created a death trap. The manager’s defense attorneys say he’s being scapegoated.
Video: She’s 18, an Immigrant, and Her Poetry Is Slammin’
At age 11, Vanessa Tahay made a perilous journey to L.A. from Guatemala to join her parents. Now 18, she is considered among the best poets in the city. “In Spanish I talk with rhythms de salsa with a little bit of cumbia y son / The whole room dances at the sound of my rolling R’s / So when you hear me say “Es-Traaa-Beh-Ree” / It’s not because I can’t speak / It’s because I want you to join me en mi danza.”
MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- Eight hours and 18 bowls of pasta with chef Scott Conant, the “Chopped” judge with the really good hair.
-- The Earth Harp, billed as the world’s longest stringed instrument, brings celestial city vibes to California Plaza.
-- Tacos for Ramadan? Of course.
CALIFORNIA
-- Voters are heading to the polls today to pick L.A.’s next congressman in an under-the-radar special election.
-- A week after officials disclosed a 57% rise in Los Angeles’ veteran homelessness, advocates say the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is delaying housing development on its West Los Angeles campus.
-- A businessman was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2015 shotgun murder of a woman in Hollywood.
-- Good news, travelers: Your new California driver’s license may be golden in the coming years for airport security.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Here’s how the breakout of “Wonder Woman” did and didn’t play in Gal Gadot’s native Israel.
-- TV critic Lorraine Ali examines true-crime shows’ focus on female victims and how “The Keepers” departs from some of the genre’s tropes.
-- Actor Roger Smith, who played a hip private eye on “77 Sunset Strip” and was married to Ann-Margret, has died at age 84.
-- The five duets you need to see from Ariana Grande’s Manchester concert (plus one good cry).
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
When the Voice of a Generation speaks, it is accompanied by piano. At least that’s the case for Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech, which was recorded in L.A., uploaded to YouTube and features an ode to his heroes. Listen to it here.
NATION-WORLD
-- British police on Tuesday identified the third London attacker. He was not a “subject of interest” to police or the intelligence services.
-- The Supreme Court will decide whether police need to provide evidence of a crime before they may obtain data from cellphone towers that show where a suspect has traveled.
-- A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer will be criminally charged in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man last month outside the Venetian casino.
-- Bill Cosby’s trial in Pennsylvania is underway. On Day 1, an accuser confronted the comedian, saying, “I was very afraid.”
-- A monitoring group says U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have mistakenly killed friendly Iraqi and Syrian forces vital to combating Islamic State, but the exact numbers are hard to know.
-- Scientists with NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover mission have found that Gale Crater had the right physical and chemical conditions for life for 700 million years.
BUSINESS
-- Columnist David Lazarus looks at a California bill that would end the “purely profit-driven” practice of drug-company coupons.
-- Snapchat maker Snap Inc. has acquired a Seattle start-up that tracks the location of smartphones to help businesses and advertisers learn more about consumer behavior.
SPORTS
-- Meet the man who’s been sent to revitalize racing at Santa Anita.
-- “Sir” Charles Barkley stole the spotlight at a big announcement … for the National Hockey League?
OPINION
-- It’s OK to miss the spread-out L.A. of yesterday. But nostalgia can’t stop us from building a smarter city.
-- Did Justice Neil Gorsuch subtweet Trump on the role of the courts?
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- A Harvard law professor and former Justice Department official under George W. Bush says Trump “infects the legal soundness of everything his administration does.” (Raw Story)
-- Who was the real Robert E. Lee? (The Atlantic)
-- Diners will steal anything from restaurants, including a 40-pound vintage duck press and a 6-foot-tall kumquat tree. (Bloomberg)
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
How do you climb up the face of El Capitan using only your hands and feet, with no protective ropes or harnesses? Very carefully. Northern California native Alex Honnold became the first person known to have “free soloed” the 3,000-foot-tall monolith. His training included hours of hanging by his fingertips and learning to overcome fear. Or as Yogi Berra would have said, it was 90% mental and the other half physical.
FOR THE RECORD: Yesterday’s newsletter said “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” opened in theaters 25 years ago this week. It was 35 years ago. “Khannnnnnnnn!”
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
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