Newsletter: Today: R-E-S-P-E-C-T?
Is the U.S. really “respected again” under President Trump’s leadership?
TOP STORIES
R-E-S-P-E-C-T?
One of President Trump’s favorite themes lately is the idea that the United States is once again standing tall on the world stage. “We are respected again, I can tell you that. We are respected again,” he said last week. The evidence suggests otherwise. Nonpartisan polls in other countries show a big slide in approval of the U.S., while many leaders of America’s closest allies are increasingly critical of Trump’s “America first” snubs and praise for authoritarian heads of state. With a number of high-profile diplomatic events coming up, including the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump’s bravado will be put to the test.
What ‘Zero Tolerance’ Looks Like
The Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy is manifesting itself in ways beyond an increase in separating migrant children and their parents who enter the U.S. illegally. In California, border authorities are planning to introduce a mass prosecution program, similar to those used in Texas and Arizona, to criminally charge more people who cross illegally, according to attorneys in San Diego. Meanwhile in Texas, asylum seekers have been camping out on a bridge for days as they wait for Customs officials to allow them to enter the U.S. The reason given: not enough space for them to be processed. Not everyone is buying that.
More From Washington
-- House Speaker Paul D. Ryan is agreeing with another senior House Republican who says there’s no evidence that the FBI planted a “spy” in Trump’s 2016 campaign.
-- Trump staged a briefing on the hurricane season, repeatedly lauding his administration’s “incredible job” last year while remaining silent on Puerto Rico’s problems and new estimates of a massive death toll after Hurricane Maria.
-- Remember Kim Kardashian West’s Oval Office visit on behalf of Alice Johnson last week? Trump commuted the sentence of Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense. More commutations may be on the way.
-- Stormy Daniels sued her former lawyer Keith Davidson, accusing him of colluding with Trump attorney Michael Cohen to undercut her interests.
Political Fútbol
As a warm-up for the World Cup, Argentina was planning on playing a “friendly” soccer game against Israel this weekend. Instead, the Argentine Football Assn. canceled the match, citing safety concerns, after the Israeli government moved the game to Jerusalem, Palestinians protested, and the Argentine players led by superstar Lionel Messi were said to have received death threats.
Disaster (Mostly) Averted
For the Democratic and Republican parties, the good news out of the California primary election was similar: The doomsday scenario did not come to pass. That means that, in November, Democrats still see a chance to flip the House, while Republicans have reason to believe they can hang onto it. Even with California’s wide-open primary system, the two-party dynamic mostly prevailed. The bad news was more for individual candidates, such as Antonio Villaraigosa, who was knocked out of the governor’s race despite $32 million spent by his campaign and outside groups on his behalf.
More From California’s Primary
-- Voters appeared to reject liberal challengers in three closely watched district attorney races, despite big spending by George Soros and liberal groups.
-- L.A. County officials are demanding answers after more than 118,000 people were left off voter rosters. The registrar-recorder/county clerk attributed the faulty rosters to a printing error.
-- The recall of an Orange County state senator targeted for voting to raise the state’s gas tax could be a sign that the tax increase is in trouble come November.
-- The recall of Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who gave a light sentence in a high-profile sexual assault case, is expected to discourage other judges from being lenient.
-- All the election results in one handy spot.
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MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- Why we won’t know the voter turnout in Los Angeles until Friday, or maybe even later.
-- What happens when you get actors Mandy Moore, Angela Bassett, Darren Criss, Jonathan Groff, Maggie Gyllenhaal and David Harbour in a room together? Just watch.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- In the new TV series “Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger,” racism and injustice are the real supervillains.
-- Film critic Justin Chang says “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” is an improvement over previous sequels, but it’s still ho-hum.
-- Jerry Maren, the last surviving actor to play a munchkin in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz,” has died at age 98.
-- Actor Brendan Fraser says the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. tried to make him sign a statement saying he was groped by its former president in 2003 as a joke. “I didn’t get the joke,” he said.
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
Tony Award-winning actress Jessica Tandy became the oldest winner of the best actress Oscar for the 1989 film “Driving Miss Daisy.” What drove Tandy, who was born on this date in 1909 and died in 1994? Much of her childhood was spent in poverty, and her mother encouraged her interest in acting, she said, “as a dignified way for me out of our bleak life.”
NATION-WORLD
-- At Arlington National Cemetery, former President Clinton paid tribute to Robert F. Kennedy on the 50th anniversary of his assassination.
-- Hundreds of recordings of 911 calls related to the Las Vegas massacre detail the chaos, agony and determination that defined that night.
-- Photo essay: Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire eruption covered villages in ash and has left at least 75 dead.
-- United Nations agencies have signed an agreement with Myanmar to support the return of Rohingya Muslim refugees, calling it a first step for the 700,000 people who fled.
-- To prepare for soccer’s World Cup, Russia is killing stray dogs. Animal-rights activists are fighting back.
BUSINESS
-- A new union-commissioned report says certain female-dominated Hollywood craft professions receive hundreds of dollars per week less than their counterparts in comparable male-dominated crafts.
-- American and Chinese companies are locked in a battle over technological dominance, but what makes things really complicated is how much they rely on each other.
SPORTS
-- Kevin Durant scored 43 points as the Golden State Warriors took a commanding 3-0 lead in their NBA Finals series with the Cleveland Cavaliers. So what was he wearing after the game? Rose-colored sweatpants.
-- The Washington Capitals are one victory away from the Stanley Cup. If they win, it’d be a short trip to the White House, but a complicated one nonetheless, given the Trump-Eagles disinvite this week.
OPINION
-- If Democrats truly want a blue wave, they need to try voting.
-- Propping up failing coal and nuclear plants in the name of national security is a disgraceful sham.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- Two of EPA chief Scott Pruitt’s closest aides are leaving, including the one involved in the hunt for a used Trump hotel mattress. (Washington Post)
-- This architect designed some of Trump’s most ambitious luxury developments in Eurasia. (CNBC)
-- A romance writer tried to stop other authors from using the word “cocky.” Seems kind of cocky, doesn’t it? (The Guardian)
ONLY IN L.A.
Have you seen Monty, Charlie and Shelby? No, they’re not the Pep Boys or three-fourths of a barbershop quartet. They’re among the Aquarium of the Pacific’s founding animals, in residence since the place opened 20 years ago in Long Beach.
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