Newsletter: Today: The Skinny on Why the Obamacare Repeal Didn’t Pass
After a day and night of Washington theatrics, the Senate voted down the “skinny repeal” of Obamacare. 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
The Skinny on Why the Obamacare Repeal Didn’t Pass
It was an unusual proposition: Vote for a law on the guarantee that it would never become a law. GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham even called the “skinny repeal” of Obamacare a “fraud” and “the dumbest thing in history” — then voted for it in the hope it would lead to more negotiation. But in the end, as the hour grew late and Twitter pundits were reduced to reading the key participants’ body language, three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and an emphatic John McCain — voted against it, sending it to a 51-49 defeat. That put Senate GOP leaders back at square one and prompted President Trump to tweet in the middle of the night, “As I said from the beginning, let ObamaCare implode, then deal. Watch!”
The White House, Uncut, Uncensored and Unprintable
Pick your favorite expression: Anthony Scaramucci’s “the fish stinks from the head down” or Kellyanne Conway’s “people using the press to shiv each other in the ribs.” Either way, what has happened with President Trump’s “fine-tuned machine”? The White House has put its infighting out into public view in ways most often seen on reality TV — and some only with a parental advisory for strong language. So while the dramas over Scaramucci versus Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Trump versus Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions play out, the administration’s struggles over healthcare, the Russia investigation and more policy issues continue — and the story lines the White House wants to promote get pushed to the side.
More Politics
-- Russia on Friday seized two American properties in Moscow and ordered the U.S. to reduce its number of diplomats in the country in retaliation for a new sanctions bill passed by Congress.
-- The nation’s highest-ranking military officer said the Pentagon has made “no modifications” to the Obama-era policy allowing transgender troops to openly serve in the military, despite Trump’s tweeted directive to reverse the rule, and will wait for a formal directive.
-- Trump will visit Long Island today to speak about gang violence after saying “our guys are rougher” than the violent Salvadoran gang MS-13.
-- The Boy Scouts’ chief executive has apologized for the president’s “political rhetoric” at this week’s national jamboree, but Trump won’t.
Cannabis Inc. Sweetens the Money Pot for Newsom
We’re still in the early stages of next year’s race to succeed Jerry Brown as California’s governor, but already the money — $25 million — is flowing in for a handful of candidates. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has a clear lead with $14 million. Among the cannabis industry, he’s even more popular: An L.A. Times analysis shows donors have given Newsom more than $300,000, versus $5,100 to others. One thing working in his favor: He’s called for the creation of a public bank to serve pot businesses now shunned by most financial institutions because of federal laws.
L.A. Makes a U-Turn on a Two-Lane Road
If there’s one thing people in L.A. hate, it’s traffic. So when the city took away lanes on Vista del Mar, a popular commuting route near Dockweiler State Beach, it did not sit well — even if the idea behind the “road diet” was to improve safety and encourage people to get out of their cars. Now, officials are bringing back the lanes they took away and seeing what lessons can be learned.
How an L.A. Firefighter Stayed Out of Jail
It began with a dispute on Halloween two years ago. Four men held down Samuel Chang on a Chatsworth street. “Stop fighting us and I will loosen up,” says one in a He-Man costume, who can be seen on video restraining Chang in a chokehold. L.A. police detectives later determined Chang was the victim of a felony assault by off-duty city firefighter Eric Carpenter. But prosecutors recently gave Carpenter a plea deal that spared him time behind bars, and he remains on duty as a firefighter. Why? Read on.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY
Eighty-four grand pianos played “Rhapsody in Blue.” Bill Suitor flew into the Coliseum wearing a jetpack. Team Romania, which had defied a Soviet boycott, got a standing ovation. On this date in 1984, the Summer Olympics opened in Los Angeles with an extravaganza directed by David L. Wolper, the producer of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” “Roots” and, later, “L.A. Confidential.”
MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- Those White House disagreements? Sarah Huckabee Sanders says it’s because Trump discourages “group-think.”
-- Film critic Kenneth Turan reviews “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” the follow-up documentary on climate change featuring Al Gore.
-- When Devon Sawa, star of the TV drama “Somewhere Between,” wants some peace and quiet, he ducks into his house’s “chill room.”
CALIFORNIA
-- The border wall prototypes that were supposed to be built in June in San Diego will probably be delayed until winter because of complaints about the bidding process.
-- In a first step toward eliminating tailpipe emissions by 2030, L.A.’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority will spend more than $138 million to buy 95 electric buses.
-- A mosque in Davis that was targeted recently in a vandalism hate crime finds itself at the center of controversy after an imam made inflammatory remarks about Jews.
-- After a “Fireball” thrill ride broke apart in Ohio, killing one person and injuring seven, fair and amusement park operators in California are shutting down similar rides.
YOUR WEEKEND
-- Onion ash, burnt coconut, seaweed... Restaurants in L.A. and around the world are getting creative with flavored oils.
-- What to do with those tomatoes: some great bloody Mary recipes.
-- How to create a zen den in your home.
-- Looking for an idyllic vacation? A free Times Travel Talks event on Sunday divulges the secrets to taking great trips.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- June Foray, the voice of Rocky the flying squirrel, Cindy Lou Who and many more cartoon figures, has died just short of her 100th birthday. TV critic Robert Lloyd remembers her mastery.
-- Kathryn Bigelow confronts a horrific chapter of American history in “Detroit.” Film critic Justin Chang calls it searing and vital.
-- There’s a new opera about Apple founder Steve Jobs, and music critic Mark Swed says it is “full of complex inner workings but simple on the surface, totally user-friendly.”
NATION-WORLD
-- Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida has fired an IT staffer after his arrest on a bank fraud charge at a Virginia airport, where he was attempting to fly to Pakistan.
-- Iran responded angrily to reports that the Trump administration would push for inspections of military facilities. Meanwhile, state media reported that it successfully launched a satellite-carrying rocket into space.
-- Pakistan’s Supreme Court has disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from serving because of allegations of corruption.
-- Is it Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia? Why doctors need to distinguish between the two and how they might do so.
BUSINESS
-- This Chinese company had plans to become a giant in the entertainment industry, but lately it’s been beating a hasty retreat.
-- Dustin Hoffman has notched a victory in his legal fight over a $3-million investment he made with Jeffrey Yohai, a real estate developer who is the son-in-law of Paul Manafort.
SPORTS
-- Baseball reporter Bill Shaikin has this note for the Dodgers: It’s OK to trade prospects to give your team a chance to win it all.
-- A bit of intrigue surrounds the Rams as they prepare for the start of training camp today.
OPINION
-- Is USC committed to transparency, or just damage control?
-- Trump subjects the Boy Scouts to a political rant: See the David Horsey cartoon.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- Does anyone in the Trump White House understand what the Department of Energy does and its role in keeping the nation’s nuclear stockpile safe? This report doesn’t inspire confidence. (Vanity Fair)
-- “What I want to do is I want to ... kill all the leakers”: Anthony Scaramucci called reporter Ryan Lizza and had quite a few things to say, with some colorful expressions we can’t publish here. (The New Yorker)
-- The few. The proud. The high school teachers who get invited to a weeklong boot camp in San Diego, with the idea that they’ll encourage students to become Marines. (OC Weekly)
-- Does the world feel as if it’s turned upside down? Here are eight places where things really have been turned on their heads. (Atlas Obscura)
ONLY IN L.A.
Location, location, location. Those are the three biggest factors in real estate, and for agent Aaron Kirman that means traveling around the world to land buyers for multimillion-dollar houses in Los Angeles. Here’s how he went from being fired from his first job as an intern to flying to Russia for a 20-minute coffee date.
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
If you like this newsletter, please share it with friends.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
