Newsletter: Today: For Team Trump, the Clock Is Ticking. Let’s Talk About Racial Profiling.

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

For Team Trump, the Clock Is Ticking

More than a week after the election, Donald Trump’s team is still in the throes of figuring out how it will govern. Transitions from one president to the next are never easy: Hiring 4,000 people, getting up to speed on national security, preparing policies and a budget are among some of the many tasks. But after a shakeup, reports of infighting and a delay in signing paperwork, this switchover is off to a shaky start, with little word out of Trump Tower other than a tweet from Trump saying, “Very organized process taking place as I decide on Cabinet and many other positions. I am the only one who knows who the finalists are!” Political writer Cathleen Decker tries to make sense out of the unpredictability we’ve seen from Trump so far.

Take Away Birth Control? That’s One Fear

The uncertainty surrounding Trump’s plans on healthcare and his desire to overturn Roe v. Wade have prompted some women in California to look into long-acting, reversible birth control, in case access to contraception or abortions is rolled back. “No one really knows exactly what’s going to stay, what’s going to go,” one woman in Glendale says. “Better safe than sorry.” Here’s a closer look at what could change and the angst it is causing.

A GOP Government, Yes. Unified, Maybe Not.

Just last week Paul Ryan spoke glowingly of the prospect of “a unified Republican government” in January. But a lot of work remains to get to the idea of unity. Trump, the self-proclaimed “king of debt,” has talked of beefing up the military, building a border wall, revamping healthcare and investing in infrastructure — plans that don’t exactly square with budget hawks like Ryan and others in the GOP.

More Politics

-- Rep. Judy Chu urged the Obama administration to protect the names of “Dreamers” before Trump takes office.

-- Trump used to rail against drug prices. Now the industry’s allies are helping shape his agenda.

-- Retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer filed a long-shot bill to scrap the Electoral College system.

Let’s Talk About Racial Profiling

Allegations of racial profiling make up one of the most challenging issues facing police across the country. L.A. police commissioners tackled the subject head on this week, hearing from residents, activists, a professor and the chief himself. This, on the heels of a new LAPD survey that found African Americans have significantly less trust in L.A.’s officers than do whites, Latinos or Asians.

What Was Aleppo? Syria’s Factory Floor

Gary Johnson may have been unclear on the topic of Aleppo, but the city of 3 million people was once the industrial and financial heart of Syria. Factories produced textiles and pharmaceuticals, and processed agricultural goods. Four years of civil war have changed all that. Now, with much of the area out of the rebels’ hands and back under the control of President Bashar Assad, business owners are wondering if it’s time to rebuild.

Return to Porn Valley?

Porn filming permit requests have dropped 95% in L.A. since the county passed a measure to require condoms on set four years ago. Now, with the defeat a statewide condom-in-porn mandate in Prop. 60 last week, some in the porn business believe that filming will return to L.A. — especially in the San Fernando Valley, where the much of the $5-billion-a-year industry is concentrated. Even though the county law is still in effect, it’s no longer being enforced.

CALIFORNIA

-- This is what it’s like to become a new citizen a week after Trump won the presidency.

-- Stop, hey, what’s that sound? The 50th anniversary of a time when music, revolution, cops and revelers clashed on the Sunset Strip.

-- “We are the walking debt”: Cal State students protested a proposal to increase tuition.

-- Bob Hope’s Palm Springs estate, designed by John Lautner and once listed at $50 million, sold for $13 million.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Singer Jennifer Warnes remembers her friend and collaborator Leonard Cohen.

-- Conductor Simon Rattle’s farewell tour with the Berlin Philharmonic is coming to Southern California, but he reminds you that it’s not a funeral.

-- Movie review: Isabelle Huppert enthralls in Paul Verhoeven’s masterful rape-revenge thriller “Elle.”

-- Mose Allison, a genre-defying pianist, singer and composer-lyricist known as “The William Faulkner of Jazz,” has died at 89.

NATION-WORLD

-- Police say a Southwest Airlines employee was shot and killed in a premeditated attack outside Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport.

-- The mayor of a West Virginia town has resigned after a racist post on Facebook about First Lady Michelle Obama, according to an official.

-- L.A. Archbishop José Gomez, a supporter of immigration reform, was elected vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

-- South Koreans don’t know what to be more worried about: their scandal-scarred president or Trump.

-- Giant rats are being trained to combat wildlife trafficking in Africa. Yes, you read that right.

BUSINESS

-- Do you know how to drive a stick shift? Cars with manual transmissions are going the way of the rumble seat.

-- Michael Hiltzik: United Airlines takes a new step to make air travel more unpleasant and more expensive.

-- From the L.A. Auto Show: The CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA says human drivers will bully robot cars.

-- Want to keep fake news out of your newsfeed? A college professor has created a list of sites to avoid.

SPORTS

-- Tale of two quarterbacks: USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Mike Fafaul share patience, fearlessness and a rise from the bench.

-- LeBron James says he’s lost respect for Phil Jackson over the use of the word “posse.”

OPINION

-- The first casualty in the war on the undocumented, as in any war, is the truth.

-- Two views of Calexit: Californians should have the right to vote on it; and fun hashtag, bad idea.

-- The Patt Morrison podcast: Transit guru Edward Humes discusses spending L.A.’s new transit billions.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Our next president will need to address an increasingly belligerent China. (The Atlantic)

-- Why we trust and mistrust banks. (Aeon)

-- Winter is coming? Now is not the time to escape into pop culture. (The Baffler)

ONLY IN L.A.

It was the case of the mystery air horn. For weeks, El Segundo residents complained of being awoken by a blast that sounded as if it was coming from a train. This week, officers say they found their man: a suspect who apparently had a dispute with one of the neighbors and was engaging in pre-dawn payback in his small hatchback vehicle. “I’ve been an officer for over 27 years and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone retaliate using an air horn,” Sgt. Vincent Martinez said.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

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