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Newsletter: Today: Quake’s Deadly Aftermath. Critics to ‘SNL’: Dump Trump.

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

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Afghan Quake's Deadly Aftermath

It is some of the most forbidding territory in South Asia -- inaccessible and dangerous. Officials in Afghanistan and Pakistan are now trying to deal with the aftermath of one of the strongest earthquakes there in recent decades. Among the complications: landslides blocking roads in the mountains and areas controlled by Taliban insurgents.

Critics to 'SNL': Dump Trump

Live, from New York, it's Donald Trump! But not if protesters have their way. Just a few months after firing him from "The Celebrity Apprentice" and citing his "recent derogatory statements," NBC is giving the candidate a hosting slot on "Saturday Night Live." Latino advocacy groups, Hollywood celebrities and others are calling on NBC to disinvite the Donald. Meanwhile, he's gearing up for his first debate after his grip on GOP nomination has slipped in the polls

This Contract Is the Bomb(er)

The U.S. Air Force's proposed new bomber doesn't have a formal name or designation yet. Its capabilities and other crucial details remain classified. But later today we'll know who's building it, when a $60-billion contract goes to either Northrop Grumman Corp. or a team composed of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. No matter who wins, much of the plane probably will be assembled in Palmdale -- a big victory for Southern California's beleaguered aerospace industry. 

Let's Make a Budget Deal!

The White House and Republican leaders in Congress agreed on an $80-billion, two-year budget deal. It would prevent another government shutdown, increase spending on defense and domestic programs, raise the nation's borrowing limit and avert the risk of a credit default. So what's not to like? Plenty, say both conservatives and liberals. 

Don't Eat That Whole Slab of Bacon

We've heard it for some time: Eating too much meat can be hazardous to your health. The World Health Organization confirmed it this week, classifying processed meats such as bacon and hot dogs as "carcinogenic to humans" and red meat as probably cancer-causing. What is a carnivore to do? Read our Q&A on what the report really means. 

Feed Your Mars Curiosity

Since landing on Mars in 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover has inched its way toward a 3-mile-high peak in the middle of Gale Crater. In this virtual-reality experience from The Times, you can explore the same dusty, rusty terrain via a tour, narrated by a NASA Mars Science Laboratory geoscientist, or on your own. No perilous space travel required. 

CALIFORNIA

-- L.A. County supervisors will debate competing proposals to pay for affordable housing

-- Flytenow, the aviation version of Uber and Lyft, is locked in a court battle with regulators. 

-- A Northern California police department brings out the nunchakus, and its not the first to do so.

-- A music festival in Maywood highlights the dual cultures of immigrants' children. 

NATION-WORLD

-- A U.S. Navy warship will patrol near China's man-made islands in the South China Sea.

-- Secretary of State John F. Kerry's mosque-cam idea: breakthrough or "trap"?

-- Tijuana looks to modernize its public transportation.

-- How a Bollywood movie helped bring a disabled Indian woman home from Pakistan.

-- Here's what archaeologists found in a warrior's grave that's been untouched for 3,500 years.

BUSINESS 

-- Suddenly, yearly gains for major U.S. stock indexes appear possible.

-- Could Uber possibly be worth $70 billion? Columnist Michael Hiltzik votes no.

-- How does a TV network stay relevant in the digital age? The CW beefs up its app for that.

-- Fred Sands, once the king of high-end L.A. real estate, dies at 77.

SPORTS

-- After his mother's death, the Kansas City Royals' Mike Moustakas draws strength from his "guardian angel." The World Series, pitting the Royals against the New York Mets, begins tonight.

-- A look ahead to the NBA season for the Lakers and the Clippers.

-- What should the Dodgers do with Yasiel Puig?

-- The Rams, Chargers, Raiders and relocation are focus of NFL's town hall meetings

ENTERTAINMENT 

-- Survive or succumb: A new death on "The Walking Dead" forces us to choose. 

-- Ricky Gervais will return to host the Golden Globes for a fourth time.

-- L.A.-based artist Jim Shaw's beguiling works get a spotlight in New York. 

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Just 6% of Africans qualify as middle class. Why so few? (The Economist)

-- Three decades later, we still don't know who betrayed these spies. (Smithsonian Magazine)

-- Some rules of language are wired in the brain. (Scientific American)

-- Chinese artist Ai Weiwei will accept Lego donations after the toy company refused his bulk order. (The Guardian)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

We know about Google's self-driving cars, but how about the Ferrari that, according to its owner, burst into flames at a Northern California gas station and then rolled away on its own? Al Cui said his Ferrari was in gear, so he's not sure how it drove away from the gas pumps and to the relative safety of a street in the city of Martinez. It's "almost like a scene out of 'Back to the Future,'" one fire official told a local TV station.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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