Newsletter: Today: In Lincoln Heights, a Neighborhood on the Edge
In one longtime landing spot for a succession of immigrants, tension has become a part of daily life amid President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
TOP STORIES
In Lincoln Heights, a Neighborhood on the Edge
Lincoln Heights was L.A.’s first suburb and has been a first home for waves of immigrants: Italian, Mexican, Chinese and Central American, to name a handful. Today, it’s 70% Latino and struggling with rising rents pushing out longtime residents. Anxiety here has only increased as President Trump focuses on those in the U.S. without legal status. Today, The Times begins the in-depth series “A Dream Displaced,” looking at how life is changing for the residents of Lincoln Heights.
The Messages Behind the Kim Visit
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s trip to Beijing this week to visit Chinese President Xi Jinping was historic for being Kim’s first known venture abroad while in power. But its true significance might not be known until after Kim’s meeting with South Korea’s president, now set for April 27 — and, if it takes place, his summit with Trump. In the meantime, experts are viewing this week’s foray as a reassertion of China’s role in the process, and as a chance for North Korea to shore up support from Xi and perhaps drive wedges among the countries putting pressure on it.
More Politics
-- Trump fired David Shulkin, the embattled head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and tapped Dr. Ronny Jackson, the chief White House physician who vouched for Trump’s health, as his successor.
-- A report says John Dowd, who recently stepped down as a Trump lawyer, raised the possibility of pardons for former campaign manager Paul Manafort and former national security advisor Michael Flynn while they were under investigation last summer. Dowd has insisted he did not.
-- Trump has been hunting for a new defense attorney in the Russia investigation, but he’s been turned down several times, which means he’s now relying on a handful of lesser-known lawyers.
-- The Justice Department’s internal watchdog will examine how officials handled a secret application to conduct surveillance of former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page.
-- Trump tweeted that his border wall construction has started. It hasn’t.
Making Lanford Great Again!
After a break of nearly 21 years, “Roseanne” is back — and making the Nielsen ratings great again for ABC. More than 18 million viewers tuned in for the premiere, which revisits the Conner family in the fictional town of Lanford, Ill. This time, Roseanne Barr’s character is a Trump supporter, reflecting the real-life views of the actress. Sure enough, the show did particularly well in many Midwestern markets that voted for Trump. And the president reportedly gave Barr a congratulatory phone call.
Turn On, Opt In, Freak Out
Look at your cellphone: Notifications in red. Popups soliciting your email address. “Enable this feature?” Pick “turn on” or “not yet,” implying you are only delaying the inevitable. Facebook and other tech companies use sophisticated design strategies to persuade users to hand over their personal information. But after revelations about how that data can be misused, consumers are upset, Congress and the Federal Trade Commission are investigating, and designers find themselves at the center of a growing ethical debate.
Lock, Stock and 31 Barrels
Sometime between March and August of last year, 31 pistols disappeared from a stash of nearly 200 guns in a city storage vault in Compton. Now, there are almost as many questions as there are missing weapons. Among them: Why did a city that hasn’t had its own police department for 18 years have the guns? Who took them? Where did they go? And how does Compton keep getting hit by scandal?
What Mexico Can Teach Us About the Big One
It doesn’t take a seismologist to look at the earthquake devastation in Mexico last year and realize the same could happen in Southern California. That’s one reason cities big and small are taking steps to identify seismically vulnerable buildings for the first time in a generation. Many building owner and tenant groups are on board with the idea. The next question: Who pays for the upgrades?
MUST-WATCH VIDEO
-- Protesters demanded that the police officers who shot Stephon Clark be held accountable during a council meeting at Sacramento City Hall.
-- Dodger Stadium is one of the most beautiful places in the world to watch a baseball game, if you pick the right seat.
CALIFORNIA
-- Trump appears to have finally found a part of the state he likes: Orange County. Even as its politics are changing.
-- Gun violence has shaped Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s political career. The issue is more important than ever for her.
-- The monthlong search for Adea Shabani, a model and aspiring actress, came to an apparent close when a body believed to be hers was found in a shallow grave 50 miles north of Sacramento.
-- Along the Mendocino Coast, authorities are searching for three children whose parents and siblings died when their car plunged off a cliff and into the ocean.
HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS
-- Film critic Kenneth Turan says “Ready Player One” blends old-school Steven Spielberg with trendy technology, but it takes some getting used to.
-- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says its president, John Bailey, has been cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation into an allegation of sexual harassment against him.
- Actor Diego Luna was a Hollywood golden boy. So why did he go back to Mexico?
CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD
At 82, Burt Reynolds has still got it. Though a bum knee has slowed his step, he keeps moving forward. He chatted about his latest film, “The Last Movie Star,” and his long career, including that nude centerfold for Cosmopolitan in 1972. “Later, I thought, ‘What in the hell was I thinking?’ Except I thought it would be funny. But I’ve lived my whole life that way. Jumping off the building would be fun, so I jump off the building.”
NATION-WORLD
-- Supreme Court justices signaled again they are troubled about gerrymandering but appeared equally frustrated over the question of what, if anything, the court should do about it.
-- An Orlando jury is deliberating the fate of the widow of the Pulse nightclub gunman. She is accused of aiding her husband in the attack that left 49 people dead and dozens injured.
-- A four-day, 50-mile march led by high school students in Wisconsin protesting gun violence concluded in the hometown of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan.
-- Ecuador’s government says it has cut off WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s internet connection at the nation’s London embassy after his recent activity on social media decrying the arrest of a Catalan separatist politician.
BUSINESS
-- Amazon stock tumbled after a report that Trump wants to “go after” the company, but some of that is because investors are skittish these days about technology shares.
-- Columnist Michael Hiltzik examines the Remington Arms bankruptcy. Is a lawsuit over the Sandy Hook massacre the real impetus behind it?
SPORTS
-- Today is baseball’s opening day, and Vin Scully has come out of retirement … for 60 seconds.
-- The Los Angeles Football Club and cross-town foe Galaxy will play each other Saturday, but the rivalry between soccer fans is already heating up.
OPINION
-- Asking for citizenship status politicizes the census and imperils an accurate count.
-- If Trump causes a constitutional crisis, will the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. show the same courage of the court under John Marshall?
WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING
-- Inside the battle to succeed Hope Hicks as White House communications director. (New York)
-- Finland was named the world’s happiest country. The secret? It might be because of how boring it is. (The Economist)
-- A Michigan couple made millions off a lottery game by using a little math and buying thousands of well-timed tickets. (Huffington Post)
ONLY IN CALIFORNIA
A routine news release about Gov. Jerry Brown’s latest appointments buried the lead: The state now has a “deputy first dog.” The governor named Cali, a 2-month-old “bordoodle” (a border collie and standard poodle mix), to serve alongside top dog Colusa. The release notes that the position does not require Senate confirmation and that “Cali is a Doggocrat.”
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