Newsletter: Today: In Hurricane-Hit San Juan, ‘the Aftermath Is Almost More Horrific’
Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan, is barely functioning after Hurricane Maria; the latest GOP attempt to repeal Obamacare is on the verge of collapse; and Anaheim officials are pushing back against Walt Disney Co. Here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:
TOP STORIES
In Hurricane-Hit San Juan, ‘the Aftermath Is Almost More Horrific’
In the capital of Puerto Rico, the situation is desperate: Most places still have no electricity, no running water, no working phones. Food, gasoline and cash all remain scarce. Black floodwater stagnates amid the punishing heat. “What we’re now seeing is that the aftermath is almost more horrific than the actual passing of the hurricane itself,” the mayor of San Juan said. “The death toll is rising.” In a series of tweets, President Trump stated, “Much of the Island was destroyed, with billions of dollars owed to Wall Street and the banks which, sadly, must be dealt with. Food, water and medical are top priorities — and doing well.” That didn’t seem to match the mood on the streets.
Another GOP Healthcare Plan Appears DOA (but You Never Know)
It isn’t over till it’s over, but the prognosis for the Republicans’ latest bid to repeal the Affordable Care Act is grim after Sen. Susan Collins became the third GOP senator to oppose the measure publicly and the Congressional Budget Office estimated millions would lose coverage. Before those two developments, Trump seemed fateful about it on Alabama radio’s “Rick and Bubba Show”: “We’re going to lose two or three votes, and that’s the end of that.” Now it’s unclear whether the Senate will vote on it.
More Politics
-- North Korea says Trump declared war via tweet. The White House says it definitely didn’t.
-- The Supreme Court’s decision to postpone arguments over the legality of the travel ban will probably send the controversy back to lower courts, for now.
-- Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and Health Secretary Tom Price have taken some pricey flights at taxpayer expense, but the outcry is lost amid bigger turmoil.
-- A look at how every NFL team protested during the national anthem after Trump’s comments.
The Politics of Disneyheim Are Changing
Disneyland and Anaheim have long been synonymous — so much so that some people call it Disneyheim. To help get its way over the years, the company has spent heavily on politicians through a network of political action committees. But last year, faced with rising crime and poverty, voters shook up the Disney-friendly City Council. The final installment of our two-part series examines the city’s changing relationship with its biggest corporate citizen.
L.A. County’s Newest City
For three decades, the Newhall Ranch project in northern Los Angeles County has been a legal battleground pitting developers against environmental and Native American groups. Now, there’s a truce that clears the way for a new city of 58,000 residents to be built along Interstate 5, where it will join other large developments in the works. Some see it as part of a solution to Southern California’s housing crisis, while others still worry about the traffic congestion and effects on nature.
War Stories From Behind the Lens in Iraq
If you read The Times’ coverage out of Iraq in the last several months, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the work of photographer Marcus Yam. His first assignment in a war zone began in March. As he writes in this first-person account, “along with innumerable sights and sounds — collapsed buildings and bridges, the shriek of mortar shells — one person and one day stand out. The person was a brave young soldier named Wissam Daoud. The day I’ll remember for a seemingly endless body count.”
MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- The spectacular Mitchell Caverns will reopen in November, seven years after vandals plundered and damaged the Mojave Desert tourist attraction.
-- Antonio Villaraigosa launched his political career as a union organizer in L.A. As mayor, he became one of labor’s biggest foes. Now, he’ll have to deal with the repercussions.
-- Film critic Kenneth Turan reviews “Battle of the Sexes,” about the Billie Jean King-Bobby Riggs tennis match.
CALIFORNIA
-- Amid another heat wave, the fast-moving Canyon fire in the Santa Ana Mountains near the Anaheim-Corona border forced people to evacuate their homes.
-- The state Medical Board has suspended the license of former USC medical school dean Carmen Puliafito pending a final decision on his fitness to practice medicine.
-- A new bystander video of a fatal police shooting in Huntington Beach shows the suspect punching the officer before the lethal shot.
-- A fundraiser for a vendor who sells bacon-wrapped hot dogs and had $60 confiscated by a UC Berkeley police officer has generated $88,000.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Megyn Kelly’s debut as host of her own NBC morning talk show “had an intensely cheery, manic first-date energy,” according to TV critic Robert Lloyd.
-- Edie Falco portrays defense attorney Leslie Abramson in a new eight-part drama about the 1989 murders of entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife, Kitty.
-- Ken Olin, who had a breakout role on “thirtysomething,” is now the sixtysomething director-producer behind the show “This Is Us.”
-- Was the 2001 film “Josie and the Pussycats” ahead of its time? Pop music critic Mikael Wood explains why.
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
If you ever wondered what it would have been like to go to dinner with Don Rickles and Robert De Niro, or Don Rickles and Sarah Silverman, or Don Rickles and Snoop Dogg, AARP has released the 13-video series “Dinner With Don.” Mr. Warmth worked on the show in the last few months before his death in April at age 90.
NATION-WORLD
-- Quake rescue efforts are winding down in Mexico City, with 40 to 50 people still missing and 326 dead across the country.
-- “I have a disease, but I have no excuses,” former Rep. Anthony Weiner told a judge before he was sentenced to 21 months in prison for sexting with a 15-year-old girl.
-- The return of the far right in Germany: What does the rise of the AfD party mean?
-- A study finds that major crime reports in New York fell when cops took a break from “proactive policing” efforts.
-- Here’s why you should apply for or renew your U.S. passport before January.
BUSINESS
-- Is Mark Zuckerberg’s response to crises willful blindness, or evidence he’s created a platform in Facebook he can’t control?
-- Facing criticism, UC Irvine Health has scrubbed “homeopathy” from its roster of offered treatments.
SPORTS
-- Lonzo Ball’s journey has just started. Now, columnist Bill Plaschke writes, it has to catch up with expectations.
-- The Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals put their own twist on recognizing the national anthem Monday night, as Trump continued to tweet about the issue.
OPINION
-- The right says liberals can’t stand free speech. This past week showed us Berkeley could take it; Trump can’t.
-- How do we help children cope with fear of nuclear war?
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- At least six advisors in the Trump White House used private email accounts. (New York Times)
-- Some Indonesians who dress up like Adolf Hitler say they aren’t neo-Nazis and see nothing wrong with it. (South China Morning Post)
-- Behind the phenomenon of marrying yourself. (Aeon)
ONLY IN L.A.
The giant paint can just beyond the left-center field fence at Angel Stadium says “Angels Home Run in the Can: $1,000,000,” indicating that if a batter from the home team knocks one out of the park and into the can, Frazee Paint will donate a cool mil to charity. But when left-fielder Justin Upton did that last week, the ball bounced first, voiding the offer. Columnist Michael Hiltzik thinks the company should step up to the plate.
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