Newsletter: Today: North Korea Tests Trump and China
North Korea’s latest nuclear test is seen as a challenge not just to President Trump but also to its longtime ally, China. Here are the stories you shouldn’t miss this Labor Day:
TOP STORIES
North Korea Tests Trump and China
Less than a week after launching a missile over Japan, North Korea has sent an even more provocative message with a powerful nuclear test. It detonated what it claims was a hydrogen bomb that could be placed on a missile capable of reaching the mainland U.S. In response, President Trump met with military leaders, tweeted that the U.S. is considering “stopping trade with any country doing business with North Korea” and suggested that South Korea had been talking of “appeasement.” Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said, “We are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea, but as I said we have many options to do so.” Amid the strong words, experts say the timing also indicates China, Pyongyang’s top ally and trading partner, has become a target of its wrath.
More Politics
-- How will President Trump handle a pair of crises in the growing threat from North Korea and the recovery and relief efforts in Texas and Louisiana?
-- Trump’s decision on the “Dreamers,” which he is set to announce Tuesday, is personal for some Californians in Congress.
Houston on a Wing and a Prayer
After Houston and surroundings were hit by the strongest hurricane to strike the continental U.S. in more than a decade, the city’s mayor has a message: “Get up, and let’s get going.” Though much of the city is dry, it’s unclear how quickly folks can return to a semblance of normality; across the flood zone, chemical hazards and damaged infrastructure remain. But in nearby Dickinson, Texas, the First United Methodist Church did its part after volunteers fixed up the church as best they could, in time for Sunday services.
More From Texas
-- The shattering choices three families faced as Hurricane Harvey slammed through their lives.
-- “I think he’s barbecuing”: A helicopter view of the Texas flood with the California National Guard.
Political Extremists or Gang Members?
Should police treat “antifa” like a gang? Should violence by white nationalists and neo-Nazis be considered terrorist acts under state law? As forces on the extreme left and right clash on the streets of California, law enforcement officials and politicians are debating whether to classify these groups as street gangs. Such a designation would give authorities an array of tools to clamp down. But given that the groups’ underlying motives are political, it raises serious legal issues.
Fire in the Hills Above L.A.
Amid a record-setting heat wave, firefighters battled a brush fire all weekend long in the Verdugo Mountains north of downtown Los Angeles. The weather provided a break Sunday, with cooler temperatures and brief showers. That allowed officials to lift evacuation orders and reopen the 210 Freeway. L.A. Mayor Garcetti described the blaze as the biggest in the city’s history in terms of acreage, and Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in L.A. County.
The Life and Death of a ‘Godfather’ in Chinatown
In his final years, Tony Young walked the streets of Chinatown in L.A. as a local celebrity. When foreign dignitaries visited, he was in the receiving line. But after he and another man were fatally stabbed in January at the Hop Sing Tong social club, where Young was president, his death brought back the stories from Young’s past. The FBI had pursued him for years, convinced that he was a “godfather” of the notorious Wah Ching gang.
MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- The La Tuna brush fire shut down the 210 Freeway in Sun Valley on Friday.
-- What advice would 77-year-old Ringo Starr have for his 19-year-old self?
-- The Wells Fargo scandal explained in 100 seconds.
CALIFORNIA
-- After spending six months in an immigrant detention facility, a taquero who just wanted to mind his own business has become an advocate.
-- Bye-bye, Silver Lake. Hello, Pacoima! Columnist Steve Lopez discovers how one couple tackled L.A.’s sky-high real estate prices.
-- Inspired to “build trust and work together,” Tibetans and Vietnamese held a human rights conference in Little Saigon.
-- Columnist George Skelton says Sen. Dianne Feinstein is outperforming many politicians half her age with old-fashioned civility.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Walter Becker, the co-founder of Steely Dan who died at age 67, approached everything with irreverence, except the band’s music.
-- Greta Gerwig didn’t get much sleep leading up to the premiere of her directorial debut, the coming-of-age dramedy “Lady Bird,” at the Telluride Film Festival. No worries: It has major awards buzz now.
-- TV critic Lorraine Ali says the A&E documentary “Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G.” takes a fascinating, authorized look at the rapper’s too-short story.
-- John Ashbery, an enigmatic giant of modern poetry, has died at age 90.
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
She was born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber on this date in 1931 in Chicago and would go on to star in “South Pacific,” “Anything Goes” and “Les Girls.” Guess who? Before she started working for 20th Century Fox, friends called her “Mitzi.” The studio came up with her new last name: Gaynor.
NATION-WORLD
-- A man rushed past security officers into a massive fire at the Burning Man festival’s signature ceremony in Nevada, suffering burns that left him dead just hours later
-- Syria may be in ruins, but it looks as if President Bashar Assad has won the war militarily.
-- German explosives experts defused a 4,000-pound World War II-era bomb in Frankfurt after evacuating 65,000 people.
-- Documents show that a fish farm that broke apart released more than 160,000 farm-raised Atlantic salmon into Washington state waters, far more than the original estimate.
-- Judge Richard A. Posner, whose acerbic wit attracted an almost cultlike following within legal circles, has retired from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
BUSINESS
-- In case you missed it, think about this on Labor Day: Behind a $13 shirt, there’s a $6-an-hour worker in Los Angeles.
-- Qualcomm is in Apple’s crosshairs over how much it charges for its inventions. It’s one of the biggest fights in the technology industry.
SPORTS
-- The story behind the amazing moment for blind USC long snapper Jake Olson in Saturday’s football game.
-- UCLA trailed Texas A&M by 34 points with two minutes left in the third quarter. Then came the greatest comeback in UCLA football history.
-- Time to panic? The Dodgers have lost six times in seven games. “I can assure you,” Manager Dave Roberts said, “this won’t break us.”
OPINION
-- If you listen closely, you can hear Trump’s tax plan shrinking.
-- Get ready for the next round in the battle over the Vietnam War. This time, it’s the war over how the war is remembered.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- The four basic options for dealing with North Korea, none of them good. (The Atlantic)
-- President Obama left behind a letter for President Trump. Read it here. (CNN)
-- The founders of Labor Day in the late 1800s envisioned something quite different from how we observe it today. (Smithsonian)
ONLY IN L.A.
Robert Vargas knows how to throw a party. A recent installment of his Red Zebra night at a downtown L.A. club featured a psychedelic guitar band, a Joan Didion look-alike and a woman dressed in Christmas lights who unplugged herself to get a drink. Vargas’ day job is a little different: He’s painting a mural on 12-story apartment building across from Pershing Square that tells the story of the city via images of the Los Angeles River, Tongva Indians, Gustavo Dudamel and three angels.
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