Newsletter: Today: Undermining ‘Clean Power’ for Coal
Will it be Christmas in August for the coal industry?
TOP STORIES
Undermining ‘Clean Power’ for Coal
President Trump is expected to head to West Virginia coal country today to drum up support for a draft replacement for the federal Clean Power Plan. The proposal would rewrite Obama-era emissions rules for power plants and, in the administration’s terminology, end “the war on coal.” It would also encourage the use of energy that contributes to global warming, smog and soot. Though the Trump plan would give a new lease on life to heavily polluting coal plants, market forces are pushing utilities toward natural gas and, to a lesser extent, solar and wind.
The Politics of ICE
Abolish ICE? Some in the Democratic Party’s left wing have called for the end of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, arguing the agency has gone astray. Establishment Democrats are worried that will backfire with voters, while Republicans and Trump have seized on the issue as a way to potentially hold onto the House. At a White House event with officers from ICE and Customs and Border Protection, Trump praised them as “brave heroes” and attacked Democrats as “extremists.” The event had its awkward moments too, with the president often referring to the CBP as “CBC” and joking that a Border Patrol agent could speak “perfect English.”
More Politics
-- Microsoft has linked fake websites to Russian hackers ahead of the November midterm election. Among those targeted was a conservative Washington, D.C., think tank.
-- As Washington prepares for a Senate showdown over whether Brett Kavanaugh will join the Supreme Court, Trump has already put his stamp on the judiciary with the lifetime appointments of at least 43 federal judges.
-- Sources say Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, could be charged before the end of the month with bank fraud in his dealings with the taxi industry and with committing other financial crimes.
When an Accuser Is Accused
Asia Argento emerged as a powerful figure in the #MeToo movement in the fall after saying Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 1997. Now she is the subject of a criminal inquiry after the New York Times reported she recently paid off a former child actor who said she sexually assaulted him in 2013, when he was 17.
The Bonds of Bail
Is the concept of posting bail money in California on its way out? A landmark bill to end the practice and replace it with a system that gives judges greater power to decide who should remain in jail before trial has taken its first major step forward. But some key supporters of reform, including the ACLU, have joined with the bail industry in opposing the bill because of last-minute changes. Here’s how it would work.
Venezuela in Crisis
In Venezuela, inflation is approaching 1 million percent. Food, medicine, jobs and money are in short supply. On Monday, President Nicolas Maduro tried to put a stop to the economic bleeding by devaluing the currency, increasing sales taxes and raising minimum wages more than 3,500%. How did things get so bad? A lot depends on whom you ask.
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MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- At the sixth annual International Latino Clown Convention, the professionals talked about their struggle for respect and pay.
CALIFORNIA
-- State Sen. Joel Anderson is facing a legislative investigation after a female lobbyist accused him of threatening to “bitch slap” her and harassing her at a Capitol-area bar last week, sources say.
-- Several shootings in and around Malibu Creek State Park have proved difficult for detectives to solve, or even to piece together.
-- The Mendocino Complex fire is bringing new dangers for firefighters on the front lines.
-- The long-vacant Herald Examiner building in downtown L.A. is getting a new tenant: a branch of Arizona State University’s journalism school.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- On his Prodigal Son tour in Escondido, Ry Cooder preached his version of the gospel.
-- Architect Lorcan O’Herlihy has made a name by working on projects that make innovative use of tight urban spaces.
-- MTV announced the return of “The Hills” during the Video Music Awards.
-- A court has granted Stan Lee a three-year restraining order against a former business manager and caregiver.
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
William Basie and his band had their first hit with “One O’Clock Jump,” but somewhere along the line, a radio announcer decided to give them some help. Since there was a Duke Ellington and a King of Swing in Benny Goodman, he’d be known as Count Basie. “I wanted to be called ‘Buck’ or ‘Hoot’ or even ‘Arkansas Fats,’ ” said Basie, who was born on this date in 1904 and died at age 79.
NATION-WORLD
-- A judge has ordered Michigan’s state health director to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in two deaths linked to Legionnaires’ disease in the Flint area.
-- A day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced another unilateral cease-fire, Taliban insurgents ambushed a convoy of buses and held more than 100 people hostage for several hours.
-- Dozens of South Koreans, mostly in their 70s or older, crossed the heavily fortified border into North Korea to meet with their relatives. The weeklong event is the first of its kind in nearly three years.
-- This week marks the end of the dog days of summer, the 40 hottest days of the year known along the south Texas border as the canicula.
BUSINESS
-- People with individual Blue Shield policies say they have been subject to sudden, erroneous cancellations, especially in recent months, forcing them to go without vital medical care.
-- Despite California’s privacy law, consumer columnist David Lazarus looks at how marketers are still scheming to snatch your data.
SPORTS
-- Southern California, hockey hotbed? It’s true, including for female players.
-- With its marquee event airing in prime time on Fox, Ice Cube’s Big3 league is gaining in popularity and could be a harbinger of the future for TV sports.
OPINION
-- California lawmakers continue to punt on wildfire liability, even as things get hotter and drier.
-- There’s Jim Crow in China. Why are we turning a blind eye to it?
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- As marijuana gains acceptance, more and more Americans are reporting near-constant cannabis use. (The Atlantic)
-- Six current and former WNBA players talk about their careers and the sexism they’ve faced. (The Undefeated)
-- A century after setting out for an expedition to the North Pole, the ship Maud has returned to Norway. (Atlas Obscura)
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
What do surfing, desert tortoises and San Joaquin soil have in common? By law, they are all symbols of the state of California. On Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that enshrines surfing as the state’s official sport. Not every symbol makes the cut. Earlier this year, a bill to make the California Vaquero the state horse failed. Why? “Too many neighs.”
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