Newsletter: Today: $1 Trillion, but Not for the Wall
A deal appears to be in place to avoid a government shutdown this week, but it doesn’t follow President Trump’s blueprint. 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
$1 Trillion, but Not for the Wall
Congressional negotiators have reached an estimated $1-trillion deal to fund the federal government through September, but while it increases military spending by about half the amount President Trump requested, it leaves out several of his top priorities. Among them: money for the border wall. If passed this week, it would increase spending on medical research, green energy programs and other areas that the White House had targeted for reductions.
Ready or Not, Here Come Trump’s Next 100 Days
After a Saturday night spent bashing the media at a rally and Sunday sending mixed signals on foreign and domestic policy, the Trump train keeps rolling along. The president said if North Korea conducted a sixth nuclear test, he didn’t know whether he would authorize military action: “I mean, we’ll see.” Trump made a “very friendly” call to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has been criticized for a bloody anti-drug crackdown, and invited him to the White House. Domestically, Trump suggested possible cuts to Medicare by curbing “abuses” and said Sen. Charles Schumer was “making a fool of himself” over Trump’s tax plan. In other words, the next 100 days are shaping up to be a lot like the first.
More Politics
-- As U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley doesn’t flinch from criticism.
-- Trump may have stumbled on healthcare and immigration, but he’s been “a wrecking ball” on the environment.
Video: The L.A. Riots, Then and Now
The vacant lots. The vivid memories. Los Angeles still bears the physical and psychological scars of the riots that rocked the city 25 years ago after the acquittal of the LAPD officers in the Rodney King beating. This multilayered video brings together the experiences of authors, journalists and officials who were in the middle of it and who discuss where the city still needs to go.
How the LAPD Has Changed
The Los Angeles Police Department is an institution shaped by its missteps during the riots, even if many of its young officers today were only kids or not even born at the time. For Chief Charlie Beck, a core mission is to not forget what happened. As Beck writes in an editorial for the L.A. Times: “It is my promise to Los Angeles that we will never forget those lessons so dearly learned and that we will never fail you again.”
More About the Riots
-- Columnist Steve Lopez checks in with a woman who just celebrated her 25th birthday. She was wounded while still in her mother’s womb during the riots.
-- “If we don’t find a way to work together, it could happen again”: Black and Korean communities reflect on the anniversary.
-- Angelenos talking to Angelenos: covering the L.A. riots from every angle possible.
An Italian Town Says, ‘Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor …’
The town of Riace in the toe of Italy’s boot has made headlines for its efforts to attract migrants, as young Italians have fled the region for better jobs in the north and overseas. Immigrants from more than 20 countries, including sub-Saharan Africa, Bangladesh and Syria, now herd sheep, drive tractors and work in artisan shops. Though it seems idyllic, making the transition is not always easy.
L.A.’s Recipe for Dining Success
What does it mean to be a chef in L.A. today? Ask a few, and the answers frequently mention freedom, diversity and the desire to make people happy, despite the many difficulties of running a restaurant or a food truck. To Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold, the fact that “the line between high and low has been obliterated” in Los Angeles is the key. We’ll be having conversations like this about L.A.’s food scene — as well as about hunger, waste and sustainability — throughout May as the L.A. Times presents the monthlong Food Bowl festival.
OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND
-- How Maxine Waters became “Auntie Maxine” in the age of Trump.
-- Friends swore Brandon Martin of Corona would be the next Derek Jeter. Now Martin is charged in three killings.
-- We went to North Korea. You asked hundreds of questions. Here’s what we found.
-- Some of the best Hainan chicken in town is in an Arcadia mall.
CALIFORNIA
-- One woman was killed and seven other people were wounded, several critically, when a man opened fire at a San Diego apartment complex swimming pool.
-- A coalition of immigrant rights, women’s and religious groups, labor unions and LGBTQ advocates will take to the streets of L.A. today for a series of May Day marches.
-- A Los Angeles police officer who Chief Beck says should be criminally charged for shooting an unarmed man in Venice is now facing domestic violence allegations.
-- Columnist George Skelton says legislators and the DMV should crack down on parking cheats who use placards for the disabled.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- The Stagecoach country music festival showed it doesn’t ride in the shadow of Coachella anymore.
-- The Fyre Festival was billed as Coachella on a private island, but it was far from a luxury getaway.
-- Here’s what it’s like to walk, ride and fly through Disney World’s new Pandora park.
-- The show at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner went on, successfully, without Trump.
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
Kirk and Anne Douglas have been married for 63 years. During that time they’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but in true soul-mate fashion, they’ve made it through the tough times — and they have the letters to prove it. Watch the Douglases talk about a new book of their collected correspondence from before the days of texting.
NATION-WORLD
-- Deadly tornadoes and flooding hit the South and Midwest and also dumped a rare late-season blizzard in western Kansas.
-- Pope Francis left Egypt charmed after a two-day visit during which he embraced Muslim leaders, challenged religious extremists and waved to fans from a blue Fiat.
-- How long can Jordan keep walking the Middle East tightrope?
-- Researchers at MIT have created a mobile robot that can 3-D-print an entire building in a matter of hours.
BUSINESS
-- Will they or won’t they? The latest on a potential writers strike in Hollywood.
-- Columnist Michael Hiltzik says that Wall Street’s grousing about American Airlines’ pay increases for its pilots and flight attendants shows what’s wrong with Wall Street.
SPORTS
-- Break up the Clippers: Columnist Bill Plaschke writes that it’s time for a big change after they lost their NBA playoff series against the Utah Jazz.
-- Columnist Helene Elliott shows how the Anaheim Ducks’ Jakob Silfverberg was gold against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their NHL playoff series.
OPINION
-- There are signs the GOP might be getting serious about the Russia investigation.
-- Is refilling Silver Lake Reservoir inexcusably wasteful?
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- How President Duterte has cultivated his “killer-savior” image. (New York Times)
-- The Democratic Republic of Congo’s diamond industry once provided a quarter of the world’s supply. Now it’s been left to those hoping to strike it rich. (Roads & Kingdoms)
-- That time when J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis went to see Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” (Atlas Obscura)
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
At 16, Bonnie Weber couldn’t get a retail job in the San Fernando Valley, so she started working a summer job flipping burgers at Magic Mountain. Now she’s president of the theme park, and she still bothers to pick up certain pennies.
Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
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