Newsletter: Today: President-Elect Trump — No, You’re Not Dreaming. Pot Gets the High Sign.
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
President-Elect Trump. No, You’re Not Dreaming.
President-elect Trump. Let those words sink in. In a year of the politically improbable, the once seemingly impossible has happened: Donald Trump won the presidential election, sending his supporters into shouts of “USA!” and the financial markets into an overnight swoon as he defeated Hillary Clinton. “It is time for us to come together as one united people,” Trump told the crowd during a victory speech that tried to put aside the taunts and insults that became hallmarks of his campaign. What’s next? Who can say for sure? But in case you missed it, we wrote earlier this year about what a Trump presidency might look like.
How the Election Turned
Most polls and pundits thought Clinton would win, possibly handily. Trump and his supporters said they were wrong. “Brexit times five!” or “Brexit times 50!” the candidate would proclaim, depending on his level of bravado at any given time. But just as with the surprising result of that British referendum to leave the European Union, the signs of Trump’s strong showing on election night were there all along. Political writer Noah Bierman gives a closer look.
The View From Boyle Heights: ‘The Children Are Afraid’
Columnist Steve Lopez spent election night at the Dolores Mission in Boyle Heights, which was hosting a results-viewing party that turned out to be less than celebratory with the prospect of a Trump presidency. “It wasn’t just the words [Trump used] that scared Boyle Heights, it was the fact that anyone could say the things he said and have a shot at being president,” Lopez writes. “The rise of a more diverse nation had given them hope of a more tolerant society, but it seemed to have unleashed a backlash against that very thing.”
More About the Presidential Election
-- State by state, race by race: the map of election results from across the United States.
-- When reality set in for those who oppose Trump.
-- The USC/L.A. Times poll saw what other surveys missed: a wave of Trump support.
-- Congress stays Republican. Will gridlock continue, even with a President Trump?
-- In California, overnight protests of Trump’s win take place, especially around college campuses.
-- From Mexico City: “This is like watching the Titanic sink.”
-- Photos: Scenes across the country from a historic day.
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California, Meet Your Next Senator
California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris defeated fellow Democrat Loretta Sanchez to win the U.S. Senate seat being left open by the retiring Barbara Boxer. The daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica will be the first African American and Indian American to represent the Golden State in Congress’ upper chamber.
Pot Gets the High Sign
After an election year that has shocked and stressed, Californians just gave themselves another option to self-medicate: Proposition 64 has passed, legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. The initiative allows residents who are 21 and older to possess, transport and buy up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and to use it for non-medicinal purposes. But there are a lot of details to work out, including how pot will be sold. As for the rest of the California propositions and races, here are all the latest state and local results in one giant graphic.
CALIFORNIA
-- Police said an assailant armed with a military-style rifle opened fire in Azusa, killing one person, wounding at least two others, and forcing authorities to secure the neighborhood and shut down nearby polling places.
-- Los Angeles teens are giving health experts a fresh reason to fret about electronic cigarettes: A study shows those who vape are more likely to become cigarette smokers.
-- The D.A. in the case of a woman caught selling homemade ceviche defends the decision to charge her.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- The L.A. punk band Dangers is fronted by a USC literature professor. Its new album tackles police brutality and American despair.
-- What would Amy Adams’ dream role be?
-- The film academy has hired an executive to spearhead diversity awareness in the film business.
-- Prince Harry lashed out at the media for intruding on the privacy of his girlfriend, actress Meghan Markle.
NATION-WORLD
-- Joe Arpaio, “America’s toughest sheriff,” lost his reelection bid after six terms in Arizona.
-- Jurors awarded a University of Virginia administrator $3 million over her portrayal in a now-discredited Rolling Stone magazine article.
-- The Philippine Supreme Court approved the burial of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at a heroes’ graveyard.
-- A new museum devoted to Yasser Arafat reflects Palestinian nostalgia and discontent.
BUSINESS
-- A strike by SAG-AFTRA over video game work could signal trouble ahead throughout Hollywood.
-- Man versus machine: The world’s best gamers may one day compete against the smartest computers in e-sports.
SPORTS
-- The Clippers are trying to maintain their newfound killer instinct.
-- Former UCLA quarterback Jerry Neuheisel hasn’t bowed out of football. He’s playing in Japan.
OPINION
-- President Trump? How did that happen?
-- Behind the Trump victory: It’s the economy, stupid.
-- Bob Dole writes in an op-ed that Congress should move to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- A look back at Los Angeles’ first U.S. presidential election between Franklin Pierce and Winfield Scott. (KCET)
-- Do you know the story of the Trump cake? And did you know there was one of Clinton too? (Boston Globe)
-- Patti Smith talks about songwriting and its mystery. (Literary Hub)
ONLY IN L.A.
How far did you go to vote? Arohi Sharma flew 2,597 miles just to do so. The 26-year-old student at the Harvard Kennedy School says she had sent in a vote-by-mail application, but it was lost in the mail or never recorded. By the time she found out, it was too late to get an absentee ballot. So onto the plane she went — and eventually to her polling place at El Camino College, where a 1½-hour wait in line was in store.
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
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