Newsletter: Today: A Moment of Unity After a Shocking Attack

Americans have called for unity, and pointed fingers, after a congressman and three other people were shot in Virginia. 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

A Moment of Unity After a Shocking Attack

“Despicable.” “Senseless.” “Unspeakable evil.” Words from both sides of the political divide in Washington were hardly enough to describe the collective revulsion after a gunman opened fire on Republicans practicing in Virginia for a charity baseball game. Described by his lawyer as an “angry little man,” the left-wing activist, Bernie Sanders supporter and adrift father had a history of run-ins with the law and left a trail of social media posts denouncing President Trump and other GOP members. He shot House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and three more people before authorities fatally wounded the gunman. Those on the scene say it could have been a lot worse. Lawmakers are asking for more security as they routinely face death threats. Yet they vowed that tonight’s baseball game, one of Washington’s few remaining bipartisan traditions, would go on.

And Then, the Finger-Pointing

Despite calls for unity from President Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and others, much of the reaction online was less than unified. As political writer Mark Z. Barabak notes in his analysis, “events quickly settled into a familiar pattern: finger-pointing, blame-laying, partisan positioning.”

More From Washington

-- The Washington Post reported that special counsel Robert Mueller is now examining whether Trump tried to obstruct justice.

-- The Senate passed by a vote of 97-2 a measure to toughen sanctions on Russia, a rare bipartisan move intended to respond to various aggressions by Russia against the U.S.

-- Vice President Mike Pence and three Cabinet members will meet leaders from Mexico and several Central American countries today to press them to prevent their citizens from migrating to the U.S.

-- An official says police will announce charges against a dozen Turkish security agents who were involved in a violent altercation in Washington last month.

A Workplace Shooting in San Francisco

As media covered the Virginia shooting, workers at a United Parcel Service facility in San Francisco were gathering for a morning meeting before heading out to make deliveries. Then one driver began shooting, killing three people before fatally wounding himself in front of police officers, authorities say. The motive was not immediately clear, but it was not thought to be related to terrorism.

LAUSD’s Board Makes a Move, Before the Final Bell

After the most expensive school board election in U.S. history, charter school forces gained a majority on the Los Angeles school board. But before they take charge in July, the outgoing board voted 6-1 to extend the contract of Supt. Michelle King, whose performance has received mixed reviews.

Don’t Mourn the Mall. Reinvent It.

When the doors to a mall close, do others open up? Columnist Steve Lopez thinks that the travails of many retail malls can give Los Angeles a chance to reinvent itself. “Rather than hold a wake, we should celebrate the opportunity to put so much concrete and asphalt to better use,” he writes. How? He’d like to hear from you.

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- House Speaker Paul Ryan: “An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.”

-- America Ferrera says the show “Superstore” is about keeping as many people in the conversation as possible.

-- Don’t expect to see “This Is Us” star Chrissy Metz in a horror movie.

CALIFORNIA

-- The district attorney of Contra Costa County pleaded no contest to a felony perjury charge then promptly resigned, hours after being charged with using more than $66,000 in campaign funds to pay personal bills and to buy jewelry and other items.

-- Here’s the latest report card on California’s battle against climate change.

-- A dog sitter and extra legroom: A look at the latest legal drama in Durst murder case.

-- Soon, you may no longer be able to park between the sidewalk and the curb in L.A.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Oprah Winfrey finds lessons everywhere, then passes them on because she loves, as she would say, “pontificating.” She also reveals her favorite line from the film “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

-- Anita Pallenberg, a muse to the Rolling Stones, has died.

-- Bob Dylan has been accused of stealing a number of sentences about “Moby-Dick” from an online study guide and dropping them into his Nobel Prize lecture.

-- Late-night TV had some fun with Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions’ testimony before the Senate.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

Mel Brooks did a film in 1981 called “History of the World, Part 1.” With his 91st birthday coming up soon, he’ll be doing the history of Mel Brooks, as a live show in Las Vegas. “I will tell them what has kept me alive, what I think is a good rationale for living every day, stuff like that,” he says.

NATION-WORLD

-- Jurors in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial asked to review yet more testimony as deliberations wound down for a third day without a verdict.

-- At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured in the London blaze that ripped through a 24-story residential tower.

-- China’s vanishing billionaires and bosses: Some return, some show up in custody, and some turn up dead.

-- If you have a heart attack, can a drone come to the rescue faster than the paramedics?

BUSINESS

-- A lawsuit in Seattle stemming from a series of deadly superbug outbreaks across the country that were linked to contaminated medical scopes may be a bellwether for other litigation involving Olympus.

-- The Fed enacted its third small increase in a key interest rate in six months, and signaled another rate increase to come by the end of the year.

SPORTS

-- Lakers icon Jerry West is headed to the Clippers, columnist Bill Plaschke writes. Meanwhile, could the Clippers be headed to Inglewood?

-- The Cincinnati Reds will dedicate a statue of Pete Rose outside their ballpark. Is this the farewell the Hall of Fame won’t give him?

OPINION

-- A shooting in Alexandria brings gun violence directly to those best situated to act.

-- Populists want to bring back the blue-collar Golden Age. But was it really so golden?

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- A Harvard political scientist says that conservative parties have proved pivotal to the health of democracies ever since the emergence of modern liberal democracy. (The Atlantic)

-- How the DEA’s Operation Too Legit to Quit eventually led to a massacre in Mexico. (ProPublica)

-- In the U.S., you can sue God, but serving papers on the Almighty is a different matter. (Atlas Obscura)

ONLY IN L.A.

Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth last year bought a Beverly Hills condo with two bedrooms, a mudroom, three bathrooms and a balcony. Her favorite space? As she explains in this video, it’s the piano room, which holds a 1920s Steinway baby grand, various mementos of her career and a Charlie Chaplin doll that creeps out some visitors. And if she belts out tunes a little too late at night, the neighbors complain.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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