Newsletter: Today: Is Déjà Vu a Preexisting Condition?
It’s déjà vu all over again for the new Senate healthcare bill. 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
Is Déjà Vu a Preexisting Condition?
You could be forgiven for feeling stuck in the film “Groundhog Day,” repeatedly waking up to find Republican leaders scrambling to rally senators from their own party behind a revised healthcare bill. This time around, the GOP plan would add billions for stabilizing insurance markets and addressing the opioid crisis and keep two Obamacare taxes on wealthy Americans. But cuts to Medicaid remain a bitter pill to swallow for several senators. So what do healthcare economists think? Columnist David Lazarus interviewed more than half a dozen, and all, regardless of political persuasion, acknowledged that the latest proposal would do more harm than good. Get the updated side-by-side comparison with Obamacare here.
President Trump: Build That (Shorter, Solar, See-Through) Wall!
President Trump told reporters on his trip to France that he still wants to build that wall, just not along the entire U.S.-Mexican border. Given natural barriers such as mountains and rivers, the president now says “700 to 900 miles” would suffice, preferably solar-paneled and see-through. Barriers already line 600 miles, though it’s unclear if those count. Either way, some conservative groups that had supported Trump’s stance on immigration weren’t too happy.
More Politics
-- A federal judge in Hawaii ordered the Trump administration to vastly expand the number of people exempt from the travel ban.
-- Trump says he, not subordinates, will make the final call on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
-- Why French President Emmanuel Macron is referring to the president as “dear Donald” now and how Trump defended Donald Trump Jr. again.
-- Trump’s chief private attorney in the ongoing Russia inquiry says he acted inappropriately when he threatened a stranger in a series of profane emails.
‘Westworld’ vs. ‘This Is Us’: Our Divided Emmy Country
Presidential foil “Saturday Night Live” got the most Emmy nominations it’s ever received in a single season, giving it a tie with “Westworld” as the top-nominated series this year. That’s not to say Trump had much influence on the Emmy picks overall. (See the full list of nominees here.) But as TV critic Lorraine Ali writes, with nominees from cable, streaming and broadcast, plus a large number of new shows competing with the old (hello again, “Modern Family” and “House of Cards”), “they offer a surprisingly sharp guide to the fractured American psyche.”
Video: Meet the Ragtag Group of Americans Fighting ISIS
Some are anarchists and socialists, “the starry-eyed dreamers.” Some are running away from their past. And some are “legitimately crazy.” That’s how one San Francisco native describes the hundreds of his fellow Americans who have left the comforts of home to fight against Islamic State in Syria. As the battle in Raqqah has shown, it can be deadly: In the last week, three volunteer fighters from the U.S. and England were killed. Foreign correspondent Molly Hennessy-Fiske introduces us to a few Californians who have joined the battle.
The Westside’s Shaky Ground
The maps show some of Southern California’s most expensive real estate: Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Century City and Westwood. But they don’t show where the stars live. Instead, the maps reveal the locations of earthquake faults. Though the drafts are subject to revision, they could have a big effect on development on the Westside. See the maps — and what happens when your house lies directly on top of a fault.
‘I’m the Schmuck Who Landed on the Taxiway’
The U.S. has one of the best aviation safety records in the world, but things can go wrong. Just last week, an Air Canada jet almost landed on a taxiway in San Francisco. In February, while piloting a single-engine prop plane, actor Harrison Ford did just that at John Wayne Airport. What happened? Follow his approach and landing through these air traffic control recordings and graphics.
FLASHBACK FRIDAY
Ernest Hemingway said the best way to deal with Hollywood was “throw them your book, they throw you the money, then you jump into your car and drive like hell back the way you came.” So why did he come to L.A. 80 years ago to hobnob with the stars for a few days? Read on.
MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- How to avoid a long wait at Disneyland.
-- “Game of Thrones” holds its Season 7 premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
CALIFORNIA
-- Gov. Jerry Brown warned of threats to human existence and American democracy should lawmakers not pass his plan to fight climate change.
-- The University of California regents have stepped up their financial oversight of the president’s office after a critical state audit.
-- The U.S. Postal Service has stopped delivering mail to a neighborhood in Glassell Park after a carrier was nearly shot there last month.
-- The Coastal Commission approved an agreement to end the mining of beach sand in Monterey County, the last operation of its type in the mainland United States.
YOUR WEEKEND
-- Restaurant critic Jonathan Gold checks out a place where the crab is stir-fried with ungodly amounts of chiles.
-- Perfect in the heat: Seven chopped salad recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen.
-- Australian fashion brands and designers have turned their attention to L.A.
-- The Delta Aquariid meteor showers are on the way, and there’s a viewing party next weekend.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Director Christopher Nolan takes on World War II in his action thriller “Dunkirk,” and he feels “a huge responsibility” in recounting history.
-- How transgender actors have been sidelined from their own stories.
-- Christopher “Fresh Kid Ice” Wong Won, a founding member of the groundbreaking rap group 2 Live Crew and a pioneer for Asian rappers, has died at age 53.
NATION-WORLD
-- The parents of Charlie Gard were back in court to try persuading a judge to let them to bring the terminally ill British baby to the U.S. or Italy for experimental treatment.
-- Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions said a record number of arrests resulting from a law enforcement push aimed at the opioid crisis signals a more aggressive approach.
-- Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese dissident who won the Nobel Peace Prize while jailed for his pro-democracy writings, has died in a hospital at age 61.
-- Rwanda is a neat-as-a-pin country where people are executed for petty theft.
-- Two Israeli police officers were killed Friday after an attack near the holiest site in Jerusalem. Police said all three attackers were killed.
BUSINESS
-- An Airbnb host who canceled a woman’s reservation because of her race has agreed to pay $5,000 in damages and take a course in Asian American studies.
-- Tesla Autopilot is about to encounter some serious competition from Cadillac’s Super Cruise, an automatic steering system billed as “the industry’s first hands-free technology.”
SPORTS
-- The Dodgers are already a formidable team entering the second half of the season, but for a World Series run, they may seek to strengthen their roster.
-- Venus Williams stands a good chance to become a six-time Wimbledon champion when she plays Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in Saturday’s final.
OPINION
-- Radio host Warren Olney says Trump can thank the “fake media” for his presidency.
-- The free world needs a new leader: See the David Horsey cartoon.
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- A Republican operative who said he had tried to obtain Hillary Clinton’s missing emails from Russian hackers killed himself shortly after talking to the Wall Street Journal, records show. His note said he was ill and there was “no foul play whatsoever.” (Chicago Tribune)
-- The Trump administration’s efforts to scale back government regulations are being conducted in large part out of public view and often by appointees with potential conflicts. (ProPublica)
-- You might not give much thought to historical markers, but the wording on them is often a political battlefield. (Smithsonian Magazine)
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA.
It was just a typical day at Oceano Dunes, where you can legally drive on the beach — except for the 40 mph car chase that left families dashing for safety. Authorities were pursuing a suspect in a white Lexus along the Central California coast when he veered off onto the sand, then eventually got stuck and ran into the ocean. Part of the chase was caught on video, before the cuffs came on.
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