Newsletter: Today: A 2020 Vision of California

How big a role will California play in the 2020 race for the White House? Just wait.

TOP STORIES

A 2020 Vision of California

Immigration. Healthcare. Trade. The environment. All of these issues are likely to drive the 2020 presidential election. They’re all front and center in California. But just how big a role will the state have in deciding whether President Trump gets another four years in the White House or a Democratic challenger prevails? As David Shribman writes, it could play out in themes that are obvious — and some that aren’t.

Not Buying This Deal

President Trump has vowed to make the “ultimate deal” to end generations of discord between Israelis and Palestinians and appointed son-in-law Jared Kushner to head the effort. Now, after numerous false starts, the Trump administration is preparing to unveil its Mideast peace plan in the coming weeks. But Palestinians have already indicated their unhappiness with the plan, given that initial indications suggest it is aimed at pleasing Israel while offering financial incentives to Palestinians but no pathway to statehood, their primary demand.

More Politics

-- On his visit to Japan, Trump downplayed North Korea’s missile testing and its potential threat to Japan, saying Pyongyang “seems to have stopped” rocket testing and predicting “lots of good things.” Trump’s remarks could heighten anxiety in Tokyo and come after a ceremony-filled stay, including a sumo match.

-- Trump sided with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a war of words with former Vice President Joe Biden and again expressed confidence in the dictator to “keep his promise to me.”

-- The White House has brushed aside congressional Democrats’ concerns about Atty. Gen. William Barr being handed extraordinary powers to declassify sensitive intelligence as part of a probe into the origins of the investigation into Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election.

Road Diets Make Them Grumpy

Two years after California lawmakers increased the gas tax with a promise to improve streets, some cities have spent millions of dollars on “road diet” projects that reduce the number and size of lanes for motor vehicles. City officials say they’re making the roads safer by slowing traffic. But some drivers are complaining that the higher gas taxes they’re paying are funding projects that increase traffic congestion.

Losing the Rat Race

“A mountain of rotting, oozing, stinking trash awaited them, stretching a good 20 yards along a skid row alley. Rats popped their heads out of the debris like they were in a game of Whac-A-Mole, then scampered for cover as a tractor with a scoop lurched toward them.” Welcome to downtown L.A. Columnist Steve Lopez takes a look at the trash and rodent nightmare there and who’s to blame.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

Today we observe Memorial Day on the last Monday in May, but for decades it was always held on May 30 and originally known as Decoration Day. Before World War I, remembrances centered on soldiers killed in the Civil War and the Spanish American War. Here’s a look back at L.A.-area Memorial Day commemorations through the years.

MORE MEMORIAL DAY

-- The May gray in the L.A. area is expected to break today, but the weather should remain cool as a number of commemorations take place.

-- If you’re having a barbecue, here’s some inspiration from L.A. chefs and restaurants.

-- Mammoth Mountain has plenty of fresh powder for skiing … into August.

CALIFORNIA

-- L.A. County is investigating whether an eviction notice sent to a 102-year-old woman at her longtime home in Ladera Heights violated temporary renter protections approved by lawmakers last year. News of her eviction has sparked outrage, including from former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

-- The San Francisco Police Officers Assn. is calling on Police Chief Bill Scott to step down after he apologized for his officers’ raid of a journalist’s home.

-- L.A.’s new gun violence prevention campaign, Louder Than Guns, was spearheaded by a teenage student with help from the mayor’s Youth Council to End Gun Violence.

-- Many people in Chinatown have never tried its most popular restaurant, so columnist Frank Shyong brought the food to them.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Critic Justin Chang on one thing the Cannes Film Festival jury got right: Awarding the Palme d’Or to director Bong Joon-ho’s movie “Parasite.”

-- Former “CBS Evening News” anchor Scott Pelley says he lost that job because he wouldn’t stop complaining to management about the hostile work environment for men and women.

-- National Geographic’s “The Hot Zone,” a six-part thriller about an Ebola outbreak, “will have you reaching for the hand sanitizer if not a hazmat suit,” writes TV critic Lorraine Ali.

-- Genevieve Waite, who briefly became a quintessential face and voice of the 1960s, has died at 71.

NATION-WORLD

-- More violent storms in the Midwest: Authorities say a tornado leveled a motel and tore through a mobile home park near Oklahoma City, killing two people and injuring at least 29 others.

-- #LivingWhileBlack: New laws in various parts of the U.S. could outlaw racially motivated 911 calls.

-- Iraq has offered to mediate in the crisis between the United States and Iran amid escalating Middle East tensions and as Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers steadily unravels.

-- Facing a looming deadline, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is struggling to form a new government, and his party has begun preparing the nation for the possibility of new elections.

-- In European Parliament elections, far-right parties and Greens gained some ground.

BUSINESS

-- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is proposing a merger with Renault in a deal that would create the world’s third-biggest carmaker.

-- A little-noticed zoning twist is set to spark a home-building boom in L.A., but predictably, not everyone is a fan.

SPORTS

-- A third horse has died in nine days at Santa Anita. It was the 26th death at Santa Anita in either racing or training since the meeting opened Dec. 26

-- Simon Pagenaud outdueled Alexander Rossi in the closing laps to win the Indianapolis 500. After his cool-down lap, Pagenaud acknowledged the crowd by stopping his car on the Yard of Bricks at the start-finish line.

OPINION

-- This Memorial Day, let’s make sure L.A.’s veterans don’t die homeless.

-- A trip to flyover country to commemorate the “forever wars” that Americans would rather forget.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Are Trump’s tweets losing their potency? Data show his Twitter “interaction rate” has dropped. (Axios)

-- From potatoes to coffee, plant breeders are changing crops to adapt to an uncertain climate future. (New Food Economy)

-- How pointy shoes caught the imagination of Medieval Europeans. (Atlas Obscura)

ONLY IN L.A.

Anthony William, a.k.a. the “Medical Medium,” claims to receive health and nutrition secrets from a voice that he refers to as “Spirit” and with which he alone communicates. He has celebrity endorsements but no actual medical training. He’s published four New York Times bestselling nutrition books extolling the benefits of celery juice. And though many doctors and nutritionists call it pseudoscience, William’s advice has led to booming sales of celery.

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