Newsletter: Today: New Perils in Harvey’s Wake

The areas hit hardest by Harvey face a new set of challenges. President Trump weighs the fate of the “Dreamers.” And heading toward Labor Day, we take a look at the hidden cost of how clothing can be made so cheaply in L.A. Here are the stories you shouldn’t miss:

TOP STORIES

New Perils in Harvey’s Wake

As the remnants of former Hurricane Harvey move northeast, Houston and surroundings are dealing with new dangers: toxic muck left over from the receding waters; “acrid and irritating” smoke from chemical reactions at a plant in Crosby, Texas; and shortages of necessities such as water and gas in some areas. The White House said 100,000 homes had been affected. With searches underway, the death toll is expected to rise, just as occurred in neighboring Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina a dozen years ago.

Wes Higgins wipes sweat from his face after spending five days patrolling flooded Houston neighborhoods in his boat. Higgins, from Knott, Texas, organized a volunteer team of 10 boats to help Houston residents.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Nervous Time for the ‘Dreamers’

Will he or won’t he? After a report stated President Trump would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as soon as today, White House officials said Thursday that Trump was still reviewing it. DACA has protected from deportation more than 750,000 people who were brought into the U.S. illegally as children. More than 214,000 live in California, where schools and universities have created support teams in case a decision to end DACA comes down. During the campaign, Trump vowed to end it; since taking office, he has said he’ll act “with heart.”

More Politics

-- After Russia demanded the U.S. drastically slash its diplomatic staff there, the Trump administration ordered Moscow to close three of its consular offices in the United States.

-- Whatever happened to the man Trump called “my African American”?

The Hidden Cost of a $13 T-Shirt Made in L.A.

How is it possible that you can buy a shirt made in Los Angeles for just $12.99? The U.S. Department of Labor investigated 77 L.A. garment factories over four months last year and found that workers were paid as little as $4 and an average of $7 an hour for 10-hour days. Their work ended up in stores such as Forever 21, Ross Dress for Less and TJ Maxx. But when workers demand back pay, retailers aren’t liable under California law.

Wells Fargo’s Latest Account of Its Fake Accounts

The fake-accounts scandal at Wells Fargo & Co. just keeps growing. The latest revelation: The bank said it may have created as many as 3.5 million checking, savings and credit card accounts without customers’ authorization over the last eight years. That’s 67% more than it had previously admitted. Though it’s tried to put the bad news behind it with leadership changes and settlements, Wells Fargo’s critics have only grown louder.

Wanted: The Photos From a Dean’s Double Life

For Dr. Carmen Puliafito and a group of younger people he befriended, the camera was often on — whether they were cuddling a litter of kittens, cheering on the Dodgers, or recording hotel room orgies and drug binges. Now, investigators are trying to obtain those photos and videos as part of USC’s probe into Puliafito, who resigned as the university’s medical school dean last year and was the subject of an L.A. Times investigation in July.

A Haven From Mexico’s Bloodshed No More

To most tourists, Los Cabos is known for its beachfront resorts, scuba diving and Cabo San Lucas drinking establishments. Since last year’s arrest of drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, factions of the Sinaloa cartel have brought violence to the region. Most of the killing has taken place in poor neighborhoods, but some has crept into the tourist zone. The government is building a base for Mexican marines in the region, and hotels have helped pay for additional federal troops.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

For decades, downtown L.A. hosted big Labor Day parades. “Combining colorful pageantry with sheer numbers, Los Angeles units of the American Federation Labor yesterday staged the most demonstrative Labor Day celebration in their history,” begins an L.A. Times article in 1937. This photo gallery consists of Times images from Labor Day parades from 1936 through 1948.

MUST-WATCH VIDEO

-- Meet Ellen Kershaw, the wife of Dodgers pitching ace Clayton Kershaw, and the driving force behind the couple’s charity.

-- Go for a ride on the “world’s shortest railway,” Angels Flight, which reopened after being closed for the last four years because of safety issues.

-- Film critic Kenneth Turan reviews “The Teacher,” a gem from the Czech Republic.

CALIFORNIA

-- The devastation in Houston is a grim reminder of what could befall Los Angeles after a catastrophic earthquake.

-- Already suffering under a heat wave, Southern California has faced intense summer storms, bringing lightning strikes that set off brush fires as well as downpours.

-- The state Supreme Court ruled that data from millions of vehicle license plate images collected by L.A. authorities are not confidential investigative records.

YOUR WEEKEND

-- Want to watch something at home on this weekend with the air conditioning on high? Here are some suggestions.

-- L.A. Fleet Week brings warships and free concerts by Los Lobos, Quiet Riot and Motley Crue’s Vince Neil to San Pedro.

-- How to make the Thai tea served at Jitlada, the Hollywood Thai restaurant.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Taylor Swift and Ticketmaster’s plan to get tickets into the hands of fans by rewarding them for interacting with (and buying) her work is coming under fire.

-- Now that the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” has been remixed and reissued, Ringo Starr has a wish list for more.

-- Oscar season already? The awards buzz can start at the Telluride Film Festival, which begins today.

NATION-WORLD

-- A police lieutenant in Georgia has been moved to administrative duty after being heard on video during a traffic stop saying officers “only kill black people.”

-- Mexico has signaled a tougher stance on NAFTA, indicating it may pull out of talks if Trump moves to scrap the deal.

-- Kenya’s Supreme Court nullified the result of last month’s presidential election, won by incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta.

-- Just outside Syria’s capital, a battle still rages over one of the last rebel-held enclaves.

-- A team of researchers has discovered the source of a stellar explosion that was first documented by Korean astronomers nearly 600 years ago.

BUSINESS

-- The Trump administration has picked a former official at DeVry University, which paid $100 million to settle federal claims it misled students, to head an Education Department unit that polices colleges for student aid fraud.

-- Treasury Secretary Steve T. Mnunchin would not commit to following through on a plan to place former slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.

SPORTS

-- The $2.6-billion stadium that Rams owner Stan Kroenke is building in Inglewood will be the world’s costliest venue, with a ticket pricing plan that would offer the most expensive seats in NFL history.

-- Columnist Bill Plaschke says that the Lakers, after being hit with a $500,000 fine, are the butt of the joke that is tampering.

OPINION

-- How did Exxon Mobil respond to an academic study showing it misled the public? With a straw man, a falsehood, cherry picking and character assassination.

-- Trump’s words reveal his favorite subject is himself: See the David Horsey cartoon.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Three thousand cries for help on social media in the Houston area look like this. (New York Times)

-- How the building at 666 Fifth Ave. in New York has bedeviled the Kushner family’s real estate business and left it hunting for cash overseas. (Bloomberg)

-- The popularity of John Denver’s music peaked in the 1970s, so why and how did it end up in so many movies this year? (Vulture)

ONLY IN L.A.

For more than three decades, Thursday Car Night has been an L.A. institution for car connoisseurs in the know: an invitation-only excuse to get together at secret locations, have a few adult beverages and check out vintage automobiles. But soon, it could be the end of the road.

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