Newsletter: Today: Money to Bern

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ immense fundraising haul reflects a resilient movement.

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Money to Bern

Bernie Sanders has put to rest any suggestion that the movement behind him has faded since his first run for president: His campaign announced that he had raised $18.2 million from 525,000 donors — most of them under age 39 — in the first quarter of 2019. By comparison, Sen. Kamala Harris’ team says she’s raised $12 million from 138,000 donors nationwide, while South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is said to have brought in some $7 million from more than 158,000 donors. The fundraising announcements are part of several events in recent days that have begun to shape the contours of a presidential race that has already veered in some unexpected directions. Perhaps the most unexpected would be a significant primary challenge to President Trump, who enjoys overwhelming support among the GOP. Still, some Republicans are considering the idea.

More Politics

-- After resurrecting the fight over Obamacare, Trump is now suggesting he will defer his push for a Republican healthcare plan to replace the Affordable Care Act until after the 2020 election.

-- Senior White House officials are said to be exploring ways to exempt commercial trade from Trump’s threat to shut down the U.S. border with Mexico. “Sure it’s going to have a negative impact on the economy,” Trump told reporters. “Security is more important to me than trade.”

-- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is moving to change Senate rules to further speed up the confirmation of low-level judges and administration nominees. It’s the latest example of scaling back long-standing Senate rules designed to give political power to the minority party.

-- As Trump continues to lash out at Puerto Rico’s politicians, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley twice referred to the U.S. territory as “that country” during a TV appearance.

-- Federal prosecutors say a woman carrying two Chinese passports and a device containing computer malware lied to Secret Service agents and briefly gained admission to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club over the weekend during his Florida visit.

A Break in the Case

Even by rappers’ standards, Fly Mac was full of braggadocio. His Instagram handle was “ima_god_in_da_streetz.” He sang of body bags, “38 gun blasts” and bloody homicides. On Tuesday, Fly Mac, whose legal name is Eric Holder, was arrested in connection with the shooting death of a far more famous rapper, Nipsey Hussle — a man who was a symbol of hope in a neighborhood but became a cautionary tale, as columnist Steve Lopez writes. The motive for the killing? LAPD Chief Michel Moore says it was a personal dispute but would not elaborate for fear of jeopardizing the prosecution.

The Calm Before the Quake Storm?

When will the next major earthquake happen in California? It’s been almost five years since the state experienced its last quake of magnitude 6 or stronger, and that was in Napa. For Southern California, it’s been even longer. And a new study has found that the last 100 years have been especially quiet for major seismic activity on the San Andreas, San Jacinto and Hayward faults. They are seen as most likely to cause trouble in our lifetime. Here are a few ways you can get ready.

K-Pop’s K-Porn Problem

It started a few years ago with a small group of young men texting each other evidence of their sexual exploits — photographs and videos allegedly made without consent of the women who appeared in them. It might have ended there too, given the prevalence of illicit sex videos in South Korea, where all production and distribution of porn is illegal. But in this case, some of the participants are stars of the South Korean music industry known as K-pop.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

On this date in 1988, the Los Angeles Times Magazine published a vision of the future titled “L.A. 2013: Techno-Comforts and Urban Stresses — Fast Forward to One Day in the Life of a Future Family.” The magazine’s cover illustration showed bubble-shaped cars traveling in “electro lanes” on a double-decked, high-rise-lined 1st Street in downtown’s Civic Center. And, as it turned out, many of the predictions were spot-on.

CALIFORNIA

-- In yet another sign of upheaval at USC, Provost Michael Quick and General Counsel Carol Mauch Amir have announced they are stepping down.

-- State regulators have voted to strengthen safeguards for thousands of wetlands and streams that are about to lose federal protections in a Trump administration rollback of the Clean Water Act.

-- Two years after the collapse of the main spillway of Oroville Dam, it’s back in business. Authorities released more than a million gallons of water down the structure.

-- For the first time, the L.A. Unified School District will have all juniors take the SAT on a school day, for free.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- The U.S. Justice Department has warned the motion picture academy to chill when it comes to Netflix and any new Oscar eligibility rules, saying that potential changes might violate antitrust law.

-- Ahead of the final season of “Game of Thrones,” columnist Mary McNamara gives an ode to the most influential and powerful genre in the world: fantasy.

-- After 23 years at the network, Fox News Chief Executive Suzanne Scott has learned how to shut out the noise surrounding her. It’s no easy feat when the channel’s No. 1 fan is President Trump.

-- A “Madama Butterfly” like never before: Sung in Japanese and English, with ethnically accurate casting.

NATION-WORLD

-- Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot has been elected mayor of Chicago, becoming the first black woman and first openly gay person to lead the nation’s third-largest city.

-- The Southern Poverty Law Center has named an interim leader who says the watchdog organization is looking “to build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.”

-- Prime Minister Theresa May said she would seek to further delay Britain’s exit from the European Union and to make an accord with the political opposition in a bid to break the Brexit impasse.

-- In Algeria, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has resigned after nearly 20 years as ruler of the North African nation, succumbing to weeks of mass protests demanding he step down.

-- Hong Kong is hoping to solve its housing crisis with an $80-billion artificial island.

BUSINESS

-- PG&E Corp., the bankrupt California power giant facing $30 billion in wildfire liabilities, is reportedly nearing a deal with a group of investors that includes naming Bill Johnson of the Tennessee Valley Authority as chief executive and overhauling its board.

-- A faulty sensor on a Lion Air 737 Max that’s been linked to the jetliner’s deadly crash in October was repaired in a U.S. aircraft maintenance facility before the tragedy, according to investigative documents.

SPORTS

-- Final Four preview: From Ja Morant to Zion Williamson, a look at the top NBA prospects who are playing and not playing.

-- Women have been playing as guests at Augusta National Golf Club for decades. But until now, there has never been an official tournament for women at the site of the Masters.

OPINION

-- The “Jexodus” of Jews switching parties isn’t what the GOP is hoping for.

-- You don’t have to live close to wildfires for them to kill you. Just take a breath.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Where are you most likely to be audited by the IRS? You might want to stay away from Humphreys County, Miss. (ProPublica)

-- Trump asked journalists to look into what sounded like the “oranges” of the special counsel investigation, and late-night hosts had a field day. (Mediaite)

-- Why are racing pigeons so expensive? The costliest one sold for $1.4 million. (The Economist)

ONLY IN L.A.

At most baseball games, you’re pretty much guaranteed to hear “The Star-Spangled Banner” and endless variations of “Charge!” At a Dodgers game, it could the viral hit “Baby Shark” or a tribute to Nipsey Hussle. The man behind the music since 2016 has been Dieter Ruehle, who is also the L.A. Kings’ longtime organist. How did he land those gigs? It all began when he was 15 years old.

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