Newsletter: Today: Europe, China and the New World Disorder

I'm Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I don't want you to miss on this Labor Day.

TOP STORIES

A Pope's Plea for Mercy

It is being called one of the greatest human displacements since World War II. Refugees seeking safety from conflict in Syria and elsewhere continue to pour into Europe. While Germany is arranging trains to take thousands to cities across the country, the continent remains divided in its response. That prompted Pope Francis to urge all of Europe to help.

Tip of the Iceberg

Last week we learned that the Pentagon was tracking five Chinese warships in the Bering Sea, but there's a lot more going on in the Arctic these days. Spy satellites orbit overhead, Navy sensors collect data underwater, and a Cold War-era listening post has a new mission. It's all part of the U.S. effort to study threats in the far north, as China and Russia boost their military presence. 

N.W.A's 'Aesthetic of Total Rebellion' 

Before he was @thejgold or won a Pulitzer Prize for food criticism, Jonathan Gold was known as "Nervous Cuzz" -- at least to Dr. Dre, who gave Gold that nickname during an interview with N.W.A. "Twenty-seven years later, N.W.A -- the actual band, not the abstract idea of the band -- is still polarizing. The raw spot in American culture that N.W.A rubbed up against remains oozing and sore," the Los Angeles Times food critic writes.  

Colbert Reports for Duty

Stephen Colbert's debut as host of CBS' "Late Show" promises to be different. He has an eclectic array of guests, including Jeb Bush, Joe Biden, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, author Stephen King, and Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk. Colbert is also entering a very different late-night TV landscape, where YouTube views are nearly as important as Nielsen ratings.

When Less Water Is More

In the push to solve California's water problems, some experts say it's time to focus less on building dams and more on conservation, innovation and incentives to be more efficient. The payoff: less cost and environmental impact. The idea, one scientist tells Pete King, is to make California "not permanently water rich, but permanently water secure."  

CALIFORNIA

-- Does Carson's mayor, a leader in the city's NFL stadium push, live in Carson? 

-- Columnist Steve Lopez: A new skirmish in the battle for Malibu beach access.

-- A U.S. task force warns cities on efforts against homeless camps.

-- How Salinas Valley’s verdant landscape hides the troubles with its only water source. 

NATION-WORLD

-- New probe: The Mexican government was wrong about what happened to 43 missing students.

-- A runoff is expected in Guatemala's election as the former president waits in a military jail.

-- One country that won't be taking Syrian refugees: Israel.

-- A court lifts a ban on day laborers in a New York town, but the fight isn't over.

-- Kentucky clerk Kim Davis appeals an order putting her in jail.

BUSINESS

-- For Hollywood, the road to China is littered with broken deals.

-- The stakes are high for Apple going into a "critical event" Wednesday. 

-- Why those working-age men who left the U.S. job market aren't coming back.

-- A petition calls for airline seat standards to end the cabin crush.

SPORTS

-- Oscar De La Hoya is fighting to rebuild his life and career as a boxing promoter.

-- Drones, virtual reality and Pylon Cams: Cutting-edge tech gets an NFL tryout.

-- It's Venus vs. Serena again -- a tough situation for the Williams sisters, and tennis fans. 

ENTERTAINMENT

-- Meryl Streep's role in "Suffragette" fits her own advocacy for women's rights.

-- A closer look at the controversial video game "Playing History 2 -- Slave Trade."

-- Our complete guide to movies coming out this fall. 

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Stress-buster: How making time for books can make you feel less busy.

-- The Boston Globe asks, When did parents get so scared? 

-- Former LAPD and current NYPD Chief Bill Bratton is profiled in the New Yorker. 

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

Rhyan Lowery was born in Compton in 1996, just a few years removed from the city's heyday as a birthplace of gangsta rap. Today, he is known as El Compa Negro, a.k.a. the black buddy, performing cumbias and corridos with his band in restaurants, nightclubs and places that cater to Mexican immigrants and second-generation Mexican Americans. His story is today’s Great Read. 

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.