Newsletter: Today: The Silencing of a 16-Year-Old Eco-Warrior

“If we’re attacked, we’ll die together,” a 16-year-old anti-mining activist told her family….

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The Silencing of a 16-Year-Old Eco-Warrior

Topacio Reynoso was only 14 when she found a cause dear to her heart: opposing a large silver mine near her remote village in Guatemala. She formed her own anti-mining youth group, wrote protest songs and toured the country. Not everyone in town agreed with her. Her parents worried, as Latin America is the most dangerous place in the world for environmental activists. One April night in 2014, unknown gunmen opened fire on her and her father. Her story is the latest in The Times’ series on environmental warriors, following last week’s article on the deadly fight to protect elephants in Congo.

The Commander in Chief vs. Transgender Troops

Back in July, President Trump caught military leaders off guard by tweeting he would “not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military.” But after a series of defeats in court, the military’s ban on enlisting transgender troops is set to go away Jan. 1 — unless the Supreme Court intervenes at the last minute.

More Politics

-- The Trump administration’s long-delayed decision to provide Ukraine with defensive lethal weapons has angered Russian leaders.

-- The question of whether Republicans will remain in the majority in the Virginia House of Delegates could be determined today by drawing names from a bowl to break an election tie.

Freeway-Adjacent Risks, Seen in a Different Air

If you live near a freeway, it’s hard to breathe easy. Research has linked traffic pollution with asthma, heart attacks and a slew of other health problems. That’s why California air quality officials have warned against creating new homes within 500 feet of freeways since 2005. But amid the state’s housing crisis, building near freeways has grown. This year, the state Air Resources Board started emphasizing things like air filters, sound walls and thick vegetation as “promising strategies” to reduce the health risks. Some worry that sends the wrong signal.

The Soloist Plays On

Whatever happened to Nathaniel Ayers, the Juilliard-trained musician who lived on L.A.’s skid row with only a two-string violin and a shopping cart? Columnist Steve Lopez, whose columns and book documented his story and became the basis for the film “The Soloist,” reports that Ayers is now living in a mental health rehabilitation center — and still finds hope in music.

Year in Review: The #MeToo Moment

Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Roy Moore, John Conyers Jr. and Al Franken are just a handful of the familiar names who were accused of sexual harassment or misconduct in 2017. “Women won’t be silenced,” writes columnist Robin Abcarian, who examines what led to this moment and the questions now being raised.

MORE FROM OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

-- Cathleen Decker surveys the chaos, division and disruption that hit national politics.

-- Seventeen film performances that deserve a second look.

-- The riveting story of “Dirty John,” and how what seemed like love could go wrong.

-- Ten of the best new cookbooks, including those on the drinking food of Thailand and the perfect cookie.

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- Folsom State Prison: A new look inside the gates 50 years after Johnny Cash’s historic live album.

-- Film critic Justin Chang reviews “Downsizing,” a fascinatingly muddled sci-fi satire from Alexander Payne.

CALIFORNIA

-- A complaint by a hotel worker union accuses the Terranea Resort of exploiting foreign interns. A spokeswoman for the resort calls the allegations baseless. The dispute focuses on the luxury resort’s kitchen workforce.

-- Veterinarians are working to heal a mountain lion cub rescued from the Thomas fire in Santa Paula.

-- Tijuana is planning a $13-million project to improve pedestrians’ first view of the city as they walk across from San Ysidro.

-- After 75 years, Twohey’s in Alhambra is closing. But there’s another place to get your Stinko Burger fix.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Film critic Kenneth Turan reflects on “The Post,” a movie about an experience he lived through.

-- And in his day job, Turan reviews “In the Fade,” starring Diane Kruger. He calls Kruger’s performance “superb.”

-- Theater critic Charles McNulty offers some ideas for how playwrights should respond to a nation in crisis. First step: Put down the phone.

-- Remember Mariah Carey’s disastrous live performance on New Year’s Eve last year? She’ll be back.

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

They had faces then, back in the Golden Age of Hollywood. One of the most mysterious and sultry was Marlene Dietrich’s. The actress, who was born in Berlin on this date in 1901, played the classic femme fatale in the 1930s and ’40s. “I played whores,” Dietrich once said. “I never played any recommendable character.” Her close friend Ernest Hemingway wrote, “If she had nothing more than her voice, she could break your heart with it.” Dietrich died in 1992.

NATION-WORLD

-- Border Patrol agents in Texas’ Big Bend region say they have seen increases in smuggling, attacks on agents and immigrant deaths.

-- A Chinese activist known as the Ultra Vulgar Butcher was given an eight-year prison sentence for subversion after mocking and pressuring officials.

-- A fisherman shot down a drone being used to monitor illegal activities by poachers in the Gulf of California off Mexico.

-- Shadia Bseiso, a Dubai-based TV host and voice artist, is ready to rumble as the Arab world’s first professional female wrestler.

-- Do you take calcium and vitamin D to prevent bone fractures? A new study says it doesn’t help.

BUSINESS

-- Shopped till you dropped? Retail sales were up 4.9% this holiday season, the largest year-over-year gain since 2011, according to Mastercard’s SpendingPulse Report.

-- All that spending won’t be enough to save malls as we know them. In Long Beach, a $100-million outdoor mall is being built, and it will put food and leisure front and center.

SPORTS

-- UCLA could not hold onto its 10-point halftime lead at the Cactus Bowl, going down in defeat to Kansas State by a score of 35-17.

-- But wait, there are more college football bowl games. Get the lowdown on today’s action.

OPINION

-- American citizens, like the one held in secret custody in Iraq for four months, have a legal right to due process, even if they’re suspected terrorists.

-- Your dog should go vegetarian, the director of an animal advocacy organization argues.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- What it’s like when Trump tweets about you: Five people mentioned by the president online discuss the fallout for them in real life. (Politico)

-- The Jackson Magnolia, a tree that has been outside the White House since the 1800s, is coming down. But that’s not where the story ends. (CNN)

-- Nobody rides for free: Driverless cars may usher in an era of free transportation, as long as you’re willing to stop at some stores on the way. (The Atlantic)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

If you’d like to dedicate the next song on the radio to someone you love, Art Laboe is the man. The deejay, who started his career nearly 75 years ago in San Francisco, is still playing the oldies but goodies. “I’ve loved radio all my life and I still do,” he told columnist Patt Morrison — even if things have changed radically since he lured Elvis Presley and Natalie Wood to Scrivner’s drive-in at the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga.

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