Newsletter: Today’s Headlines: China syndrome, living history, stadium chess

Hello. I'm Davan Maharaj, the editor of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines you shouldn't miss today.

TOP STORIES

A reprise of history

Some anniversary stories can seem, well, dutiful. But check how Assistant Managing Editor Kim Murphy directed our coverage of the 50th anniversary of the Selma civil rights march. It includes a retrospective of a centenarian civil rights leader who was present at the march, a piece about the town's current challenges, gripping videos and a live blog. If you want to read the most in-depth coverage, this is it.

China syndrome

Who'll write the rules for global trade? The U.S. would like to. So would China. They're vying to form Pacific free-trade pacts that don't include each other. President Obama aims to scare up support in Congress with dire warnings about Chinese dominance. Trade measure opponents, including labor and consumer activists, aren't scared. "It's the best boogeyman for the moment," one said.

Lost generation?

Many of us, as teens, felt the trauma: leaving friends and a comfort zone for a strange town and a new school. Now imagine that you barely speak the language of your new classmates. It might take you a year to enroll, if the school bureaucrats admit you at all. Americanized teens who land in Mexico with deported parents are at risk of becoming a lost generation.

Fourth and long

AEG was a front-runner in the L.A. stadium stakes, with millions invested and City Council approval for a site downtown. One problem: no NFL team. Now, with proposals gaining traction in Inglewood (Rams) and Carson (Raiders and Chargers), AEG is looking like an also-ran in its hometown. Don't look for this behemoth to punt, though. Read what may be in the playbook. 

Brighter days

June gloom, that coastal SoCal phenomenon also known as fog, is becoming a thing of the past. The frequency of fog and low clouds in the L.A. Basin in summer months has fallen 63% since 1948. Something to cheer, perhaps, but there's a downside. Read what a Columbia University researcher found.

CALIFORNIA

-- The growing California State University system is using higher admission standards to put the brakes on enrollment despite pressure to do the opposite.

-- Bucolic meets economic in Sunland-Tujunga, where opposition is simmering over a proposed major housing development.

-- Another rebellion against "mansionization," this time in Burbank.

-- Huntington Beach imposes a 45-day moratorium on new massage parlors while it works on regulations.

NATION-WORLD

-- Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California says Hillary Rodham Clinton should speak publicly about her emails or risk damaging a 2016 presidential campaign.

-- Hollywood's watching as the "Midnight Rider" trial in Georgia focuses on film-set safety. 

-- Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu's anti-Iran speech to Congress appears to play well with voters at home. 

-- In Moscow, more arrests in the killing of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, but little on who might have been behind it.

-- The Nigerian extremist group Boko Haram's pledge of allegiance is a propaganda coup for the Islamic State, analysts say.

BUSINESS

-- Stock spotlight: A look at California Resources Corp., the "new" company left behind when Occidental Petroleum moved to Houston. 

-- Airlines and airports are in a war of words over a plan to raise the "passenger facility charge," and probably the price of your ticket. 

SPORTS

-- How sorry is the state of big college basketball in the Southland? There's a decent chance that no L.A.-area schools will make the NCAA tournament.

-- Bill Dwyre: Angels pitcher Joe Smith isn't nearly as common as his name.

ENTERTAINMENT

-- "Chappie" tops the box office on a slow weekend. "Unfinished Business" flops.

-- "An Honest Liar," a new documentary about the Amazing Randi, lifts the curtain on some of his secrets. 

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- National Geographic: "Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt Science?"

-- "Unkicked addiction": The threat nukes pose to peace is growing.

-- An open letter to Jose Cardenas, one of "McFarland USA"'s real-life champions.

ONLY IN L.A.

If you're an artist and want to paint your mural in Los Angeles, here's a few things you must do: Pay a $60 registration fee, hold a community meeting to vet the image with neighbors, and worry about applying a protective, anti-graffiti coating. Good news: The city will help with the tab. Arts writer Deborah Vankin revisits the city's 2013 mural ordinance to see if it's working.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.