Newsletter: Today: Senate Showcase Showdown. Where ‘Fat Man’ Was Born.

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

TOP STORIES

Senate Showcase Showdown

There are 34 candidates vying for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer — the biggest field of statewide contenders since 135 ran in the 2003 special election for governor. On Monday night, just the top five squared off for a debate in Stockton, with front-runner Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris escaping serious attacks from her rivals. But Rep. Loretta Sanchez was not as lucky. Here’s how the night unfolded.

A Changing of the Jail Guard

Over the last three years, Terri McDonald has had a mission: to turn around an L.A. County jail system reeling from allegations of mismanagement and abuse. Now, as she steps down, supporters are crediting her with transforming the jails through empathy and toughness. But some guards are complaining that the reforms have given inmates too much power and led to an increase in attacks on them. Read on for more about the assistant sheriff’s legacy.

The Mystery of the Missing 43

What happened to the 43 Mexican college students who went missing on a rainy night in September 2014? A 605-page report from a panel of lawyers and human rights experts from Latin America and Spain has discredited the official government account. But here’s why it doesn’t answer the basic questions of where the 43 are or how high the blame should go in the Mexican government.

What’s Next for Tribune?

Gannett Co. wants to buy Tribune Publishing, a move that would mean an ownership change for The Times and solidify Gannett’s status as the nation’s biggest newspaper publisher. But a deal is far from certain. While Tribune will evaluate the offer, CEO Justin Dearborn said management is working on its own plans for a “significant transformation.” Here’s how it could play out.

Where ‘Fat Man’ Was Born

It looks like a sleepy valley along the Columbia River in Washington. It isn’t. The Manhattan Project National Historical Park 100 miles west of Walla Walla is a birthplace of nuclear weaponry. Travel writer Christopher Reynolds recently paid a visit to the Hanford B Reactor, which made the plutonium for the bomb the U.S. dropped on Nagasaki. He found a place that is being reinvented — to get families talking about a lot more than just the physics behind the bomb.

CALIFORNIA

-- A former Berkeley law school dean blasts a new sexual misconduct review against him.

-- The Assembly has voted to ban the use of tobacco and electronic cigarettes on all state college campuses.

-- Pay phones are relics, but there is still demand for them in the state.

-- A decomposing whale carcass threatens to draw sharks to the Trestles surfing area.

NATION-WORLD

-- The Cruz-Kasich merger and four other things to watch in today’s primaries.

-- Afghanistan’s president vows no more peace talks with the Taliban.

-- The editor of a Bangladesh LGBT magazine and his friend were stabbed to death; an Al Qaeda branch claimed responsibility.

-- Meet the Catholic grocer who helps Mexican Jews keep kosher.

-- A study finds child obesity in the U.S. has increased unabated since 1999.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- At a Jehovah’s Witness hall, congregants remember Prince as “Brother Nelson.”

-- The strategy behind the release of Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” album.

-- The new “JFK” opera is a surreal spin on the president’s last night in Texas.

-- At 90, artist Ed Moses is still “finding out as I go. I’m an explorer.”

-- Unlike in “The Meddler,” Susan Sarandon takes a hands-off approach as a mom.

-- Five horror movies to see this summer.

BUSINESS

-- Apple could report its first quarterly revenue drop in 13 years today.

-- The FCC’s chairman and the Justice Department have signed off on Charter’s takeover of Time Warner Cable.

-- Four consequences of a $15 minimum wage — the good and the bad.

SPORTS

-- Chris Paul’s injury is the worst blow as the Clippers suffer a blowout.

-- History does not favor the Ducks as they face another Game 7.

-- The Lakers felt an urgency to part ways with Byron Scott while top coaching candidates were still available.

OPINION

-- Do older women face age discrimination in the job market? Absolutely. Here’s proof.

-- Restoring voting rights to Virginia ex-felons is a welcome move, but for a whiff of partisan politics.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- How thousands were rounded up before the 1988 Seoul Olympics and subjected to abuse. (Associated Press)

-- A giant steel arch is being built to cover the Chernobyl reactor, 30 years after the accident. (Wall Street Journal)

-- Downward spin cycle: Coin laundromats have been closing. (89.3 KPCC)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

Is it an olive branch or “crazy”? L.A.’s Department of Water and Power has created a $4.6-million artwork on a dry bed of Owens Valley featuring a plaza, sculptures and trails as a gesture of reconciliation for taking the region’s water more than 100 years ago. Read on to see why some locals are skeptical but one admirer calls it “California’s version of Stonehenge.”

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.