Newsletter: Today: The Travel Ban Pushback at LAX, SFO, DFW, JFK, BOS … and Worldwide
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
The Pushback at LAX, SFO, DFW, JFK, BOS … and Worldwide
President Trump’s executive order to block travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations (read it here) triggered confusion, fear and anger around the U.S. Protesters, including thousands at LAX, and attorneys gathered at airports to try to force the release of detainees. Federal judges intervened. Some travelers, like this 75-year-old Iranian grandmother, talked of their ordeals. For one group, the order proved particularly infuriating: American veterans who relied on Iraqi interpreters on their tours of duty. “This is not what we fought for,” said one. So they did something about it.
Trump Leaves It to the Steves
Trump calls them “my two Steves”: top advisors Stephen Bannon and Stephen Miller, who rarely speak publicly but often flank the president. Over the weekend, Trump made the unusual move of adding them to his National Security Council while limiting the attendance of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence. Officials said Bannon and Miller played a key role in the travel ban order — the clearest sign yet they intend to reshape the country.
The Misery and Humanity of the Syrian Refugees
When President Trump slammed the door shut on Syrian refugees last week, he no doubt eviscerated the hopes of many people fleeing one of the most brutal conflicts since World War II. The Times’ correspondents traveled across the globe to paint portraits of a people scattered from Sweden to Brazil. Read this heart-wrenching piece about a mother separated from ailing twins. And see the entire series here.
The Onetime ‘Do-Nothing Congress’ Deals With a New Reality
Republicans in Congress may have expressed their desire to work hand in hand with Trump. Instead, they’ve been complaining about Trump forging ahead without them, much as they did with President Obama. The difference was that with Trump, it was mostly quiet kvetching — until the new refugee policy crossed the line for some. How will Congress adjust?
Why Police Don’t Want to Do ICE’s Job
Trump has called for empowering local law enforcement to take on the duties of immigration agents. The L.A.-area police officers and sheriff’s deputies our reporters talked to, including some officers who voted for Trump, said it’s not their job. Many added that it would make policing more difficult by sowing distrust and discouraging witnesses and victims to talk.
More About Immigration
-- Are you an immigrant? We want to hear what you think of Trump’s orders. We have already lots of reactions, including how L.A.’s Iranian American community is responding.
-- Trump’s refugee policy raises a question: How do you tell a Christian from a Muslim?
-- Why not just build a wall? The logistics of doing so along the shifting Rio Grande in Texas have vexed officials and residents for years.
Hollywood Searches Its Soul
Hollywood’s awards season has long been a soapbox for political causes, and in some respects, this year is no different. Over the weekend, many spoke out against Trump during the Sundance Film Festival, Producers Guild Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards (more about that below). But as we get closer to the Oscars, there’s a debate going on too about whether speaking out can be counterproductive. Does it reinforce the idea that Hollywood lives in a bubble — and distract from making one’s art?
OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND
-- The uncensored Trump repeatedly interrupted the more sober one in the first week.
-- A celebration of female filmmakers triggered a heated debate about gender and race among Salma Hayek, Jessica Williams and Shirley MacLaine.
-- Imagine running a multibillion-dollar industry and having to do everything in cash. The perils of the legal cannabis business.
-- A feud over a text message ended with the fatal shooting of a teen. But was it really murder? Records show two witnesses now say they lied.
-- Californians are competing for a rare prize: a chance to land a blue-collar union job paying up to $200,000 at L.A.-area ports.
-- Why read a 5-year-old book about ExxonMobil now? Two words: Rex Tillerson.
CALIFORNIA
-- Scientists are concerned the Sierra Nevada forest won’t ever recover from the more than 102 million drought-stressed and beetle-ravaged trees that have died since 2010.
-- Santa Monica Airport will close in 2028 after federal and local officials reached a settlement.
-- “Calexit” organizers can start collecting signatures to get California secession on the ballot.
-- Gov. Jerry Brown will undergo a new round of treatment for prostate cancer, but he won’t miss any work.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- “Hidden Figures,” “Stranger Things” and “Orange Is the New Black” took home the top ensemble prizes at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, but a lot more was on the minds of those in attendance.
-- Oscar-nominated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi will not attend the ceremony after Trump’s executive order on refugees.
-- Films about, and by, women took the top honors at the politics-heavy Sundance Film Festival awards.
-- Times film critic Justin Chang remembers John Hurt, who died at age 77 last week, as a voice of wit, mischief and wily humanity.
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!” Fifty-three years ago this week, director Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” opened in the U.S. The Cold War classic earned four Oscar nominations.
NATION-WORLD
-- Quebec City police arrested two people in connection with a fatal shooting at a mosque.
-- A U.S. special operations commando was killed and three others injured during a raid on Al Qaeda fighters in central Yemen, according to the U.S. military.
-- At Standing Rock, many have vowed to stay and fight, though protesters face pressure on several fronts to leave for good.
-- Benoit Hamon, known as the Bernie Sanders of France, has won the Socialist Party primary for president.
-- Police in the Seattle area say they’ve busted one of the biggest burglary-ring cases in Northwest history, in part because of the suspects’ carelessness.
BUSINESS
-- The tech industry is reacting to Trump’s executive order on immigration with fear and frustration.
-- How much credit does President Trump deserve for U.S. companies’ recent job announcements?
SPORTS
-- At the NHL All-Star Game in L.A., hockey’s future met 100 years of its past. But during the weekend’s festivities, Kings announcer Bob Miller suffered a mild stroke.
-- It was a match for the ages when Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.
OPINION
-- Not only was Trump’s order on refugees unfair and inhumane, but the way it was executed was a disaster.
-- Trump did great this week (according to his supporters).
-- The truth is immigrants have let us live like princes.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- “It alienates Muslims who are patriotic citizens”: Gold Star father Khizr Khan on the refugee ban.
-- Jean-Paul Sartre versus Albert Camus: How the two friends wound up in the philosophical split of the 20th century. (Aeon)
-- Not black and white: In old westerns, white hats were sometimes bad and black hats good. (Atlas Obscura)
ONLY IN L.A.
The Ft. Moore Pioneer Memorial on Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles is “the most historically and geographically important monument that nobody knows about,” says Clare Haggarty, manager of L.A. County’s art collections. Why is that? For one, its 77-foot-wide waterfall has been dry for 40 years. But there are plans to restore the monument and the flow of water, drought or no drought.
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
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