Newsletter: Today: ‘They Will Be Met With Fire and Fury’? Who Said This, Trump or Kim Jong Un?

President Trump and North Korea exchange threats in a new war of words. 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

‘They Will Be Met With Fire and Fury’? Who Said This, Trump or Kim Jong Un?

“They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” Brinkmanship and bluster have long been the hallmarks of North Korea’s strategy, but those words were from President Trump and directed at the government in Pyongyang. They came not long after a report that U.S. intelligence officials had assessed that North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can be carried atop a missile. The response? A statement from North Korea didn’t mention Trump’s words but warned it was “carefully examining” a plan to attack the U.S. territory of Guam. One big concern among diplomats is that a misstep or miscalculation could trigger a chain of events that escalate into a new, nuclear-charged Korean War.

More Politics

-- Trump emphasized the need for stepped-up law enforcement to combat the nation’s opioid problem, an approach that is at odds with a report released last week by the special commission he appointed to address abuse.

-- Trying to boost morale, the deputy secretary of the State Department told employees that the Trump administration’s goal is not to destroy the agency but to streamline it.

The New LAPD: Los Angeles Police Drones?

Send in the drones? The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department already operates one after an abrupt announcement in January that drew protests from civil liberties advocates. The Los Angeles Police Department is taking a slower approach. It bought a pair three years ago, only to lock them away. Now it’s back with a vision to fly a drone as part of a one-year pilot program, to gather information in situations such as standoffs with hostage-takers or bomb scares. Opponents worry about Orwellian mission creep or even weaponization.

Requiem for a Rhinestone Cowboy

“By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” “Gentle on My Mind.” “Wichita Lineman.” “Rhinestone Cowboy.” Glen Campbell was born the “seventh son of a seventh son,” got his first guitar at age 4 from a Sears Roebuck catalog — then went on to sell more than 45 million records over his half-century career. But for Campbell, who died at age 81, some of the loudest cheers came during his final years, when he rejected the shame and secrecy that can surround Alzheimer’s disease. Times staff writer Randy Lewis saw first hand how Campbell faced it, with a song.

Glen Campbell at home in Malibu in 2011.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The Streaming Service That Mickey Built

Netflix changed Hollywood. Now, Hollywood may change Netflix. Walt Disney Co., the town’s biggest studio, said it will end its distribution deal with the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company and launch its own film and TV streaming service in 2019, alongside an ESPN service next year. Will other studios follow suit? Either way, Netflix has increased its original programming and just this week announced a six-episode talk show by David Letterman and the acquisition of a comic-book publisher. It’s come at a cost: $20 billion in long-term debt and obligations.

And the Oscars’ Presidency Goes to …

In times past, being the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was a largely ceremonial role. Not so in recent years, as the organization has pushed to diversify, plans to build a museum in L.A. and tries to shore up the Oscars’ TV ratings. Into the fray will jump cinematographer John Bailey, a surprise candidate who won election over some more well-known names such as actress Laura Dern. He’ll succeed Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who was the first African American to head the academy.

A New Air of Accountability

For more than a decade, air quality officials have warned against building housing within 500 feet of heavy traffic, yet thousands of homes have been constructed near freeways. In 2016, the city of L.A. started requiring new housing near freeways to install high-efficiency air filters. Yet as The Times reported last month, no procedures were in place to document compliance. Now Mayor Eric Garcetti has ordered building inspectors to begin tracking this information.

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- In a stare-down between hikers and a mountain lion, the big cat always wins.

-- Chef Gordon Ramsay has a soft side. No, really, he does.

-- A report from the Rams’ training camp.

CALIFORNIA

-- Columnist Steve Lopez asks: Do regulators in California have your back when utilities or industries run amok, or when there’s a threat to public health in your neighborhood?

-- The man credited with leading an initiative that brought more healthful meals to Los Angeles’ public school students has been charged with embezzlement, forgery and mismanagement of funds.

-- Judicial Watch sued to get Hillary Clinton’s emails. Now it wants information on California voters.

-- A 19-year-old from West Covina was one of the three U.S. Marines lost when a military aircraft crashed off the Australian coast last week.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- President Trump says he’s not on vacation, but late-night TV hosts aren’t buying it.

-- When conservative radio host Dennis Prager conducts the Santa Monica Symphony, there will be no avoiding politics.

-- Times theater critic Charles McNulty remembers the late Barbara Cook as a Broadway singer who revealed the great American songbook in a new light.

-- Kesha’s first album in five years is out, after a protracted legal battle with her former producer. So what does it sound like?

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD

If you’ve ever seen the first “Godzilla” movie from Tokyo’s Toho studio, you know his stomp. Haruo Nakajima, the man in the rubber monster suit in the 1954 classic, has died at age 88. “I am the original, the real thing,” he said in 2014. “My Godzilla was the best.”

NATION-WORLD

-- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing the growing prospect of criminal charges that could ultimately dislodge him.

-- In Kenya, turnout for a fiercely contested presidential election appeared to be high among the 19.6 million registered voters. Opposition leader Raila Odinga alleged Wednesday the results were manipulated by hackers.

-- Police in France are searching for a driver who slammed his BMW into a group of soldiers Wednesday, injuring six.

-- It took courage, craziness and chutzpah for a San Diego entrepreneur to open an American-style craft beer brewery in Berlin, but Germans are drinking it up.

-- Which puppy will be a good guide dog? Ask mom!

BUSINESS

-- “Girls Trip” producer Will Packer has had a remarkable run of hit movies by marketing directly to their target audiences rather than massive ad campaigns in L.A. and New York.

-- By firing the engineer who wrote a now-infamous memo, Google shows what you can and can’t say at work.

SPORTS

-- Joe West, the longest-serving umpire in the majors, has been suspended three games for labeling Adrian Beltre as the biggest complainer in baseball.

-- UCLA football would like to drop all the talk about missed passes.

OPINION

-- In leaking a federal climate change report, scientists are sending a message to Trump: Global warming is real.

-- Today is the 72nd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Think about this: There are almost 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world now.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Here’s the draft of the climate change report that scientists feared the Trump administration would not release. (New York Times)

-- “The likes of which this world has never seen before”: a favorite Trump phrase. (Toronto Star)

-- A new book traces the origins of today’s celebrity culture back to the 18th century. (Literary Review)

-- What can crows living in cities tell us about ourselves? This artistically told story explains. (CityLab)

ONLY IN L.A.

Cold-pressed juice may be relentlessly on trend these days, but at Jugos Azteca in Highland Park, the juice is old-school and a lot less expensive. Just as it has for 21 years, it specializes in Mexican-style fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies, tortas, tostadas and snacks. But it has taken a new-school approach by posting videos on Instagram, sometimes as many as 30 a day, to juice up its business.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.

If you like this newsletter, please share it with friends.