Newsletter: Today: A Week and a Lifetime

Today could bring more clarity in the saga of a Supreme Court nominee.

TOP STORIES

A Week and a Lifetime

It’s been one week since the news broke: a confidential letter, accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of a decades-old sexual assault, had been referred to the FBI. Since then, much has been reported, speculated and debated. Now, the question of whether California professor Christine Blasey Ford will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee is up to the panel’s Republicans. After days of silence, Ford says she’s willing to appear — but not on Monday, as Republican senators had wanted, and “provided that we can agree on terms that are fair and which ensure her safety.” Ford’s offer has also increased the pressure on several key moderates, particularly GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, as they consider a lifetime appointment for Kavanaugh.

More Politics

-- The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on 33 foreign individuals and businesses, including at least 25 Russian nationals previously indicted by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

-- With his home state flooded and the death toll rising, FEMA Administrator William “Brock” Long was on the verge of quitting this week.

-- Government watchdogs say that in the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Ben Carson, loyalty is prized over experience.

The Law Catches Up With ‘Suge’ Knight

Marion “Suge” Knight founded a rap empire in Death Row Records and was once described as the “most feared man in hip-hop.” Now the 53-year-old is facing up to 28 years in state prison after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the 2015 hit-and-run death of Terry Carter. The plea deal ends a years-long legal drama that saw him cycle through more than a dozen attorneys.

A Little Rent Relief

Is the cost of renting a place to live about as high as it can go? The latest data show that rent growth is slowing in Southern California and across the nation after a remarkable run-up. The slowdown is most pronounced for the high end of the rent scale. And it comes just as a major rent control measure is about to go before California voters in November.

Returning to Serve

Tennis great Billie Jean King and her life partner, Ilana Kloss, will be announced as new minority owners of the Dodgers at tonight’s game in Los Angeles. For King, who grew up in Long Beach and has been a Dodgers fan wherever her career has taken her, this move isn’t coming out of left field. “Joining the Dodgers is my life coming full circle.” She told columnist Bill Plaschke all about it and how she hopes to make a difference.

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FLASHBACK FRIDAY

On Sept. 12, 1953, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz faced reporters at their Chatsworth ranch home to answer questions about Ball’s brief association with the Communist Party in 1936. The same day, the House Un-American Activities Committee released a transcript of her secret testimony before it. Ball wasn’t worried: “Hurt me?” she said. “I have more faith in the American people than that. I think any time you give the American people the truth they’re with you.”

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- The small boutique guitar luthiers of California deliver big sounds.

CALIFORNIA

-- Officials at the Department of Motor Vehicles said that an additional 3,000 people were mistakenly signed up to vote during the rollout of the state’s “motor voter” program.

-- Gov. Jerry Brown signed the nation’s first state law barring dine-in restaurants from giving customers plastic straws unless they are requested.

-- L.A.’s new website to report harassment and bias has received a complaint against Councilman José Huizar, and a special panel will look into it.

-- Two of the homeless men who were beaten in downtown L.A. this week have died of their injuries. Could a homeless man’s death in Santa Monica be related?

YOUR WEEKEND

-- What to do with all those apples dominating the stands at farmers markets in the next few months.

-- Hip Hot’s chef remixes Sichuan and Cantonese cuisines in Monterey Park. Her next mission is to open two more restaurants.

-- Contemplating a trip to Legoland in Carlsbad? Here’s how one set of grandparents and grandkids did it.

-- If you’re looking for workout inspiration or tips, check in with this 66-year-old trainer.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- On the set of “Murphy Brown,” which returns to TV next week after 20 years, it’s almost as if the show never stopped.

-- Michael Moore’s anti-Trump documentary “Fahrenheit 11/9” channels outrage in a messy but powerful way.

-- Horror director Eli Roth has made a family movie: “The House With a Clock in Its Walls.” Film critic Justin Chang says it’s not half-bad.

-- The Los Angeles Philharmonic at 100: How the orchestra rose from humble roots to become one of the world’s best.

NATION-WORLD

-- One year after a deadly earthquake in Mexico City, a man who lost his mother and sister looks for a way to move on.

-- For Americans in China, a trade war will make the comforts of home more expensive, and that’s just the beginning.

-- Colombia saw a record level of coca plant cultivation last year, according to a United Nations report.

BUSINESS

-- Will it be Comcast or Fox-Disney? The battle for the London-based pay-TV company Sky will be settled in an auction on Saturday.

-- Theme parks are finding new ways to scare up money from Halloween fans.

SPORTS

-- Love it or hate it, switching up the lineup is a big part of the Dodgers’ strategy.

-- Lakers coach Luke Walton has the front office’s strong support to open the LeBron James era. At least for now.

OPINION

-- Don’t let the SAT become the yardstick to measure California high schools.

-- Millionaires’ visas give the wealthy an unfair fast track to a green card.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- “The Plot to Subvert an Election”: What we know so far about Russian interference. (New York Times)

-- Physicists debate: Is it time to get rid of time? Don’t worry, everyday clocks aren’t going anywhere. (Nautilus)

-- Disneyland and the magic of urban planning. (Atlas Obscura)

ONLY IN L.A.

President Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been smashed to pieces twice and defaced innumerable ways. This week, it was covered by prison bars. An artist who goes by the name Plastic Jesus created the bars out of wood and said he affixed them using double-sided tape, out of respect for the property. This isn’t Plastic Jesus’ first encounter with the star, either: During the 2016 campaign, he surrounded it with a miniature border wall.

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