Newsletter: Today: Speaking to the Conscience of the Nation

During another week of divisive politics in America, the White House chief of staff and two former presidents spoke out in their own ways.

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Speaking to the Conscience of the Nation

The remarks Thursday from White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and former Presidents George W. Bush and Obama were far different in intent, but each hit upon a common theme: the state of our nation. Speaking as a retired general who lost his son in combat, Kelly gave an emotional defense of President Trump’s handling of military condolence calls, criticized a Democratic congresswoman — and lamented the “things [that] were sacred in our country” when he was a child, including, in his view, women, religion and Gold Star families. Bush also spoke of the past but delivered a veiled yet scathing attack on Trump and his policies, suggesting Trump has promoted bigotry and falsehoods to the country’s detriment. (Read it here.) Obama, on the campaign trail, didn’t mention Trump by name either, but his message was clear: “Why are we deliberately trying to misunderstand each other and be cruel to each other and put each other down? That’s not who we are.”

More Politics

-- Senate Republicans overcame internal divisions to approve a 2018 budget plan that would increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years to allow for Trump’s proposed tax cuts.

-- The Pentagon is investigating a growing list of questions in the deadly Niger ambush.

-- A young, pregnant migrant’s case has become a test of Trump’s policies on abortion and immigration.

The LAPD Opens a Weinstein Investigation

Los Angeles police are investigating a new allegation that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted an Italian actress at the Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel in 2013. She is the sixth woman to accuse Weinstein of rape or forcible sex acts, with the five other cases being looked into by New York and London police. A Weinstein representative says he has “unequivocally denied” allegations of nonconsensual sex. Meanwhile, several Weinstein Co. staffers have issued a statement saying, “We did not know we were working for a serial sexual predator.”

Wildfires in the North Expose Another Weakness

The wildfires that hit Northern California have been responsible for at least 42 deaths and more than $1 billion in insured losses. They also have exposed weaknesses in some critical areas: emergency alerts, fire-risk zoning, the healthcare system and firefighting support from the air. Though officials say it probably would not have made much difference in the first few hours of the wind-driven fires that tore through wine country, there were no firefighting aircraft in the region capable of flying at night.

Video: A Texas Town Tries to Heal

When the Mesquite High School football team takes the field just east of Dallas, each player taps a piece of white athletic tape over the locker room door inscribed “LLJE 11.” Long Live Jordan Edwards. The 15-year-old boy died in April when a police officer fired on a car filled with black teenagers as it pulled away from a house party. The officer is facing a murder charge. The town itself is just trying to cope through faith, family and football.

Ja’Darion Smith, 15, gets dressed after a recent practice. Since Jordan’s death, he finds comfort in prayer.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )

Cheaters Take a Toll on the Harbor Freeway

Cheaters never prosper, but some of them have been using the 110 Freeway’s carpool lanes. A study by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority found that more than 25% of drivers in the lanes are driving solo but not paying the required fee to do so. Most of them apparently do it by switching their transponders to a carpool setting, even though they’re alone. “We thought people would be more honest,” says one official. What to do? By next year, there could be an automated system to detect the number of occupants in a car and issue a ticket if the transponder setting doesn’t match.

The Dodgers Win the Pennant!

The Dodgers are headed to the World Series for the first time since 1988 after blowing out the Chicago Cubs, a team that just last year ended its own 107-season championship drought. Now pitching ace Clayton Kershaw will have some time to rest up for Game 1 at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Still to be determined: whether the team will face the New York Yankees or the Houston Astros.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

In 1952, these L.A. Times photos of Buster the roller-skating rooster found their way into newspapers around the world. But the story of how photographer Leigh Wiener discovered the rooster during a routine assignment in a run-down part of L.A. is even stranger than the sight of poor Buster on wheels.

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- Go inside the Champagne-soaked Dodgers’ celebration in Chicago.

-- Film critic Kenneth Turan reviews “Wonderstruck,” a visually captivating and fully engrossing tale of wonder for movie fans of all ages.

-- Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman endure a crucible of suffering in “The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” film critic Justin Chang says in his review.

CALIFORNIA

-- The arrest of a homeless man accused of felony arson in Northern California has set off a debate about immigration policies.

-- Hundreds of carpenters, operating engineers and ironworkers are rushing to complete repairs to the damaged Oroville Dam spillway before rainy season.

-- When a big earthquake hits, your first instinct can mean life or death.

-- Gustavo Arellano, the OC Weekly’s editor in chief and “Ask a Mexican” author, has left the paper. Times arts writer Carolina Miranda says his departure lays bare the shaky position Latinos occupy in English-language media.

YOUR WEEKEND

-- A weekend escape to Marble Canyon, Ariz., involves plenty of rocks and river.

-- With all the heat in L.A., it’s the perfect time to try out this recipe for burnt milk ice cream.

-- Your tip sheet for Southern California fall plant sales, starting this weekend.

-- The woman behind the Jungalow Instagram feed has some home design advice: It’s all about making you feel good.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Quentin Tarantino admits he “knew enough to do more” about Harvey Weinstein.

-- A new film about primatologist Jane Goodall is out. “I have a message to give,” she says, “and I don’t know how many years I have left.

-- Arcade Fire’s new album is getting a lot of hate, but frontman Win Butler finds it “tremendously exciting.”

NATION-WORLD

-- There was much booing when white nationalist Richard Spencer gave a speech at the University of Florida, but the atmosphere was mostly peaceful.

-- Destructive hurricanes have brought the long-struggling federal flood insurance program to the brink. Now Congress must decide what to do.

-- The Taliban has a new tactic in the Afghanistan war and has used it to devastating effect twice in three days: stealing Humvees and loading them with explosives.

-- Driven by political unrest and violence, Venezuelans are fleeing their country by the thousands.

BUSINESS

-- Workers at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes have sued the ritzy hotel, contending that they aren’t paid for all of their time on site.

-- Despite a backlash over political ads, Facebook’s role in elections is likely to only grow.

SPORTS

-- The Lonzo Ball era of the Lakers opened … with a 108-92 loss to the Clippers.

-- Saturday’s USC-Notre Dame game has national title implications again.

OPINION

-- Which is worse? Trump’s anti-media rhetoric, or his administration’s prosecution of two journalists?

-- What’s the appropriate time to release police body-camera videos? Right now.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- A look at the Southern California-based white supremacist hate group at the center of violence in Charlottesville and elsewhere. (ProPublica)

-- On this Colombian island, residents drink a lot of soda because the well water is nonpotable and bottled water too expensive. (Roads and Kingdoms)

-- A brief history of artworks considered too scandalous for display. (BBC)

ONLY IN L.A.

The Bradbury Building has appeared in films such as “Chinatown,” “500 Days of Summer” and “The Artist,” but its appearance in the original “Blade Runner” as part of a dystopian L.A. is perhaps its biggest claim to fame. The next time you are downtown, step into the Bradbury lobby (it’s free) and check it off your bucket list.

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