Newsletter: Today: Like Voting for ‘Which Arm to Cut Off.’ The ‘Grim Sleeper’ Receives the Ultimate Punishment.
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
Like Voting for ‘Which Arm to Cut Off’
The latest polls in some key states show Hillary Clinton widening her lead over Donald Trump, including in Wisconsin, where she is ahead of him by 15 points among likely voters in the Marquette Law School poll. But as we’ve seen all along, a lot of people are not happy with the choices. The decision “is like choosing which arm to cut off,” said a participant in two focus groups of women in Columbus, Ohio, and Phoenix this week. “I’d pick Minnie Mouse right now,” said another. The consensus among them: Clinton would go on to win.
More Politics
-- Tell us: What do you think of Clinton and Trump? Your answer may be included in our upcoming reports.
-- Trump called President Obama “the founder of ISIS” at a rally in Florida.
-- A man who says he wanted to meet Trump climbed 20 stories of Trump Tower.
The ‘Grim Sleeper’ Receives the Ultimate Punishment
More than three decades after the first known victim in the “Grim Sleeper” serial killer case, Lonnie David Franklin Jr. has been sentenced to die for the killings of nine women and a teenage girl in South L.A. Detectives say he may have killed at least 25 women. “This is not a sentence of vengeance,” Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy told Franklin as relatives of his victims looked on, some of them in tears. “It’s justice.” More from a dramatic day in court.
China’s ‘Rule of Law’ Feels Like a Crackdown
Human rights activists, attorneys, writers, publishers — many of those who’ve spoken out about the Chinese government in China and abroad have felt the grip of efforts to increase what leaders proudly call the “rule of law.” Some scholars refer to it as the harshest crackdown on civil society since the Mao era. Here’s why officials often cite “foreign forces” as the root of evil in such cases.
It’s Not Easy Being Green — or Red, White and Blue
Olympic athletes are all about pursuing the gold, silver and bronze, but green? When the diving and water polo pools turned that color, competitors and viewers wondered what was going on. Officials attributed it to a sudden change in alkalinity. As for the red, white and blue, gymnast Gabby Douglas’ and swimmer Michael Phelps’ turns on the winner podium stirred discussion over how to act when the national anthem is played.
More Olympics
-- The success of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team casts a big shadow over the men.
-- Keeping in the dark about the Olympics is tougher than you might expect.
Gawker’s End to a Weird Era
Gawker made a name for itself online by imbuing a sense in its readers that it was treading where other media outlets dared not. That approach backfired when it was hit with $140 million in legal damages after its flagship site lost a lawsuit over publishing a Hulk Hogan sex tape. Next week, a bankruptcy auction will mark an end for the writers there — and possibly, a new beginning.
CALIFORNIA
-- A suspect shot dead by police in Boyle Heights was a 14-year-old boy, officials said.
-- Long Beach will pay out more than $3 million after the fatal police shootings of unarmed men.
-- A study finds thousands of lives could be saved by stricter air pollution limits.
-- A L.A. truck driver is accused of smuggling $11,000 of recyclable bottles and cans into the state.
NATION-WORLD
-- Some African American cops say they’re “on both sides of the fence” in disputes between activists and police.
-- A Justice Department report on the Baltimore Police Department will probably start years of costly reform efforts.
-- A Muslim women’s organization in France was forced to cancel a “burkini” pool party after protests over Islamic clothing rules.
-- A battle over women praying at Jerusalem’s Western Wall continues as a compromise between Orthodox and liberal Jewish groups stalls.
-- Did the earliest Americans pass through ice or cross over water? A new study fuels debate.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Amy Schumer keeps her promise to be honest and authentic, and she doesn’t really care what the haters think.
-- TV review: “The Get Down” raises the beginnings of hip-hop to rapturous and corny heights.
-- James Corden takes the “and then what?” approach to keep “Carpool Karaoke” fresh.
-- Jerry Seinfeld: “Comedians talk to each other very differently than most normal people.”
-- The Sundance Next Fest in downtown L.A. tries to be more than just a film festival.
-- Get a peek at the exterior of Washington, D.C.’s soon-to-open African American museum.
BUSINESS
-- Coach and Michael Kors deliver another blow to department stores: The brands are sending less merchandise their way.
-- Bloggers and digital influencers are reshaping the fashion and beauty landscape.
-- Why Delta’s outage caused such widespread headaches.
SPORTS
-- The Rams preseason opener against Dallas on Saturday, the first NFL game in L.A. since 1994, could draw a crowd close to the stadium’s capacity of 91,000.
-- Longtime ESPN broadcaster John Saunders has died at age 61.
OPINION
-- Conviction, but no real punishment, in the San Bruno explosion case.
-- Let’s get our nuclear weapons out of Turkey.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- Can a man’s life be saved by transplanting his head? Researchers are hoping they can do it, despite an ethical debate. (The Atlantic)
-- Female Olympians aren’t getting the credit they’re due in the media. (Salon)
-- Here’s what happens when the Social Security Administration mistakenly thinks you’re dead. (NPR)
-- A bit about us: How the L.A. Times newsroom built its own journalist-friendly story editor. (Nieman Lab)
ONLY IN L.A.
Frédérick Gautier has traveled all the way from Paris to study the L.A. River for two months. His mission: to search for discarded objects, as well as “traces, cracks, holes and imprints” in the concrete, and to make art from them. But why the L.A. River? Movies had something to do with it. “There’s not just one L.A. River, but so many little parts, and they are all so different. It’s like the backstage of the city.”
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
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