Newsletter: Today: When Botox Meets Viagra. The Olympic Wringer.

I’m Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don’t want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

When Botox Meets Viagra

It’s been a busy year for consolidation in the U.S. healthcare industry. It could get busier, now that Botox maker Allergan and Pfizer -- of Viagra, Celebrex and Lipitor fame -- have confirmed they’re in early talks to merge. If it happens, it would be a blockbuster deal that raises questions about the rising cost of pharmaceuticals -- and about corporations trying to lower their taxes.

A Teen’s Path to Redemption

When a judge sentenced Stephanie Valdivia to a year at a barbed-wire-enclosed facility in Santa Clarita, probation officer Sam Uweh looked at the teenager’s rap sheet, drug addictions and failing grades. “I thought she was going to be a bad, bad kid. The worst kid ever,” he said. The facility, called Camp Joseph Scott, embraces an innovative educational model that aims to build self-esteem and introspection. Would it work for Stephanie? Today’s Great Read -- and photos -- tell her journey.

Jeb Bush Wants His Mojo Back

He’s got money, a seasoned staff and family history behind him. But Jeb Bush has lately been having more downs than ups in the Republican presidential nomination race. “I wish I could talk as well as some of the people on the stage -- the big personalities,” he said after this week’s debate. “But I’m a doer.” A look inside the onetime front-runner’s campaign.

In China, One Becomes Two

China will allow all married couples to have two children, ending 35 years of its one-child policy. How will history judge it? Chinese officials point to economic and societal benefits; critics decry forced abortions, sterilizations and hardships; and sociologists wonder about a generation of selfish “little emperors.” Take a deeper look at the one-child policy’s legacy and why it’s ending.

Going Through the Olympic Wringer

Faster. Higher. Schmoozier. It could have been the motto as about 1,200 Olympic committee delegates from around the world met in Washington, D.C. Among the crowd: International Olympic Committee members who will select the 2024 host city in two years. That’s why L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and LA24 Chairman Casey Wasserman were there, along with representatives from Paris, Rome, Hamburg and Budapest. Here’s how they pressed the flesh.

CALIFORNIA

-- LAUSD must pay $6 million to two boys sexually abused by their third-grade teacher.

-- TK me-1030-winds-and-fire

-- Democrat Loretta Sanchez may need an assist from GOP voters in the U.S. Senate race.

-- Robin Abcarian: A San Francisco mayoral candidate with a slightly profane name strikes a chord.

NATION-WORLD

-- Las Vegas’ water hogs are outed, and there are some prominent names.

-- A summit in Vienna on the Syria war stirs some hope for a peace process.

-- A Saudi Arabian blogger who was flogged is awarded the EU’s top human rights prize.

-- About 6,000 drug offenders will be released from federal prison starting Friday.

-- Standoff in Boulder, Colo.: Prairie dogs hold a Buddhist-inspired college at bay.

-- The ancestor of all apes might not be what scientists expected, a new fossil shows.

BUSINESS

-- A lawsuit says Amazon cuts down on price and delivery times by cheating workers.

-- The GOP debate brought record ratings and plenty of criticism for CNBC.

-- David Lazarus: Americans are paying more for broadband speed but getting less.

SPORTS

-- A former USC linebacker says he tried to warn the university that Steve Sarkisian’s off-field behavior had “caused issues” at the University of Washington.

-- Royals pitcher Ryan Madson wants to know why baseball players can’t use human growth hormone as a medical treatment. The World Series resumes tonight.

-- Bill Dwyre: Beholder’s scratch from the Breeder’s Cup is bad news for horse racing.

ENTERTAINMENT

-- Ron Howard and Brian Grazer explore anti-aging therapies in the science series “Breakthrough.”

-- For the band 5 Seconds of Summer, the clock is ticking on its teen-idol years.

-- Abigail Disney, grandniece of Walt and a bit of a rebel, gets into directing a film.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- More trouble in coal country: Healthcare is at risk for retired miners and their families. (Pro Publica)

-- How a man’s unborn twin fathered his child. (Time)

-- In search of Ernest Hemingway’s 1955 Chrysler New Yorker in Cuba. (Narratively)

ONLY IN L.A.

Waffles, fresh off the … printer. The 3DS Culinary Lab premiered in Los Angeles this week, with the goal of giving people an up-close look at the possibilities of 3-D-printed food. The grand opening featured dishes and cocktails created in collaboration with local chefs and mixologists. Care for a French onion soup with a 3-D printed onion powder cube?

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.