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Today: A Heads-Up for the Big One. The Echoes of Trump’s Wall.

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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.

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The Echoes of Trump’s Wall

Even if Donald Trump’s much-talked-about wall along the border is never built, the candidate has struck a nerve. Lawmakers in Indiana, Arizona and at least a dozen other states have been championing laws that target immigrants in the country without legal authorization. Trump’s success is, as Kansas’ secretary of state said, “a flashing neon sign for Republicans and all politicians that this issue really matters.”

A Little Heads-Up for the Big One

California is far behind places like Japan, Mexico and Taiwan when it comes to an earthquake early-warning system. The biggest hang-up: Who will pay for it? After having argued that the money should come from federal and private sources, Gov. Jerry Brown is now asking the state to contribute $10 million to the cause. It’s a big boost to get the system operating by 2018, but keep reading to see why it’s only a first step.

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When Hospital Safety Lapses

When “superbug” outbreaks related to medical scopes hit last year, hospital leaders said they were increasing their efforts to clean the devices. But when state inspectors visited Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, they found problems: numerous safety violations related to infection control. Read on to see what they found and how the hospitals moved quickly to fix those problems.

‘I Feel Like a Girl, Not a Boy’

She is 9 years old and plays volleyball, just like her mom and sister. She’s the class treasurer of her West L.A. elementary school. And she’s the first openly transgender student there. This is her story — of her experience, of how she talked to her parents and what it’s like to encounter a bully.

How the Edge Found What He Was Looking For

It’s been one of the longest, most bitter and costliest residential development battles in California history. U2 guitarist “The Edge” wants to build five houses on an untouched hillside in Malibu. Since buying the land more than a decade ago, he and his partners have employed more than 60 lawyers, lobbyists and environmental consultants, records show, and filed more than 70 technical reports. Take a virtual tour and see how he’s finally poised to start construction as early as next year.

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Cash-Strapped in Caracas

Food is scarce. Inflation is rampant. The power supply comes and goes. In Venezuela, an economic crisis has taken hold. The drop in oil prices has hurt, but critics also blame the country’s policies emphasizing social welfare programs and oil subsidies over investment. Anger with the government is growing. But as one citizen said, “All of us Venezuelans know what happens to protesters. They are repressed.” Read on for more from the ground in Caracas.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

-- Cover your ears: Coastal Commissioner Martha McClure’s on the phone.

-- Kamala Harris and Loretta Sanchez look to raise name recognition and court Sanders voters.

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-- Meet the women trying to rid Pakistan, and the world, of polio.

-- Why the Normandie Casino in Gardena may be hitting its limit.

-- The Expo Line is finally coming to the Westside, but limited parking raises concerns.

-- Chloë Sevigny seeks a new chapter at Cannes, via a cat.

-- The new book “The Other Slavery” will make you rethink American history.

CALIFORNIA

-- The state’s November ballot will have as many as 18 measures.

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-- San Bernardino County will consider ending giant raves at San Manuel Amphitheater.

-- This is how the governor wants to make it easier to build affordable housing.

-- California is poised to become the center of cannabis culture.

NATION-WORLD

-- Sexual assault survivors find themselves under suspicion at BYU.

-- What it was like to be a foreign exchange student in Beijing at the end of the Cultural Revolution.

-- Why Chicago’s Chinatown is flourishing while others across the U.S. fade.

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-- A “global terrorist” comes in from the cold: This Afghan warlord was an ally of the CIA, then of Osama bin Laden.

-- Looking to court luck or ward off evil? Step inside one of the nation’s last remaining hoodoo shops.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Beyoncé’s passion and rage ruled during her tour stop at the Rose Bowl.

-- Steven Spielberg discusses his return to making films, like “The BFG,” that let him create new worlds.

-- Megyn Kelly gets her rematch with Donald Trump in a prime-time showdown.

-- NBC plays it safe for the fall: It will add just three new shows.

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-- What you don’t know about Gabriel García Márquez.

BUSINESS

-- Want to invest in a social network? How about a condom company? Now’s your chance via crowdfunding.

-- Alaska Airlines wants to replace Southwest Airlines as California’s go-to airline.

-- The transcript of Sheryl Sandberg’s powerful UC Berkeley commencement address, which dealt with her husband’s death.

SPORTS

-- It’s NBA draft lottery time, the most wonderful (and fraught) time of the year for Lakers these days.

-- Former Angels and Dodgers pitcher Dan Haren opens up about the inner turmoil that led to his retirement from baseball.

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OPINION

-- “I loved Uber as a passenger. Then I started working as a driver.

-- Relative to ordinary homicides in South L.A., the Grim Sleeper case got a lot of attention.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- A transcript and the recording of the “John Miller” interview about Donald Trump. (Washington Post)

-- On the hunt for real-life tomb raiders who are stealing the world’s heritage. (National Geographic)

-- Are Hall and Oates the ultimate litmus test of musical taste? (LA Weekly)

ONLY IN L.A.

The latest installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Little Tokyo venue isn’t on the walls. It’s on the plates. The man behind the underground supper club Wolvesmouth is serving a nine-course art-dinner, featuring bold textures and bright colors. One dish looks like a beating heart. And the setting? A dinner table surrounded by a sculptural installation of Styrofoam and coyote pelts, of course. Here’s a taste of “art that you experience through your mouth.”

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Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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